


You Didn't Say Goodbye

by spacefaegoddess



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, F/M, M/M, adashi, allurance, klance, klangst, mostly klance though, slight adashi, slight allurance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-12-11
Packaged: 2019-07-20 21:01:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16145429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacefaegoddess/pseuds/spacefaegoddess
Summary: Lance watched the cockpit doors open as Keith stepped through."And just what do you think you're doing here?" Keith asked angrily.Lance only swallowed and looked at the floor. "You didn't say goodbye."





	1. Chapter 1

Keith had a feeling he wasn’t going to like this talk.

He wasn’t going to like it, but he had been expecting it to come eventually. It had been three days since their final battle and Keith was still sore as he walked through the hallways of the Garrison. His mom had come to his room earlier and told him to meet her in the lions’ hangar in two vargas to discuss what should come next. Keith dreaded every minute waiting. The hallways were mostly quiet- only the occasional Garrison officer walked past. It had been pretty eerie for the past few days. Normally, Keith would welcome the silence, but this silence had a much more sinister feeling. The Garrison was quiet because almost half of its population had been killed in the Galra attack. Keith recognized many of the faces shown at the memorial service. Officers, professors, fellow students. Sometimes…he couldn’t help but feel partially responsible. He was a paladin of Voltron. He was supposed to have protected those people, made them feel safe.

That had already caused him enough stress. This meeting was just pure fear and anxiety icing on the depression cake.

Finally, he made it to the hangar door. With a deep breath, Keith pushed it open and began the long walk to the Black Lion.

All of the lions showed their scars from battle. Yellow had several dents in his armor from Hunk taking too many ion cannon blasts. Blue had several bullet holes on her belly and legs from Galra foot soldiers. Green’s face had a massive crack: Pidge had been distracted trying to pinpoint a cruiser’s location and took a shot head-on. Red was probably the most beat-up. Taking advantage of the lion’s speed, Lance tried to save everyone when they were in trouble, which nearly always gave Keith a heart attack. He couldn’t count how many times Lance jumped in front of a blast or dove straight for enemy ships. Keith tried not to think about that too much, but it always seemed to find him no matter what.

Of course, Keith had chewed Lance out several times for his reckless behavior. It was pretty ironic considering that the roles used to be reversed. Keith guessed that Red just had that affect on people; honestly, that lion could be really persuasive when she wanted to be. But for him, that didn’t excuse Lance practically trying to sacrifice himself every two seconds. Lance claimed that he was just trying to protect the team, but Keith knew why Lance did it. Lance was just too kind and too selfless to let someone else be hurt because of him. And…Lance probably still thought that the team was better off without him. Keith tried to tell him time and time again that they needed him, or honestly that Keith needed him at his side, but Keith was not that great with words.

Thoughts of sad blue eyes were torn away from his mind when he realized that Krolia wasn’t alone in front of Black. Both his mom and Kolivan turned to him as he approached. 

“Ah,” Keith said, “so this is going to be that kind of talk.”

Krolia gave a small, strained smile. “Yes. There are things we all need to address.”

“And it needs to be done as soon as possible,” Kolivan said, then gestured towards Black. “If you would?”

“Oh, yeah,” Keith said and walked closer to Black so that the lion’s mouth would open. Krolia had suggested that they talk in the lion so that there would be less of a chance that someone would overhear. As if that lessened Keith’s nervousness at all.

Keith led his mom and Kolivan into Black’s cockpit. He took the central seat while Krolia leaned against the dashboard, but Kolivan remained standing. Always professional, that guy.

Kolivan began to speak. “As you are well aware, the war with the Galra has finally ceased. Zarkon, Lotor, Haggar, Sendak- all terminated. The Galran Empire is without a leader and without a uniform army. And as it’s highly unlikely for a rogue band to try to strike Earth on their own. For now, we’re safe.”

Keith looked quickly from Kolivan to his mother. “What do you mean, ‘for now’?”

Krolia sighed. “The Galra have just been dealt a heavy blow. They might be scattered and weak, but now they all have a common enemy. It’s only a matter of time before someone attempts to take up the throne and reunite the empire. They will want their victory.”

Keith thought for a moment before replying. “So, we gather our defenses. Just because we won doesn’t mean we can let our guard down. Inform the public to watch for suspicious activity. We need officers watching the skies and keeping up the training for cadets. Maybe we can even plant some bugs on Galran ships.” He turned to Kolivan. “Would the Blade of Marmora be up for some spy missions?”

Krolia and Kolivan exchanged a look. “That’s what we needed to talk to you about,” Krolia said.

A realization hit Keith, and he swallowed. “We don’t have the numbers, do we? After the druid attacks?” The gears in Keith’s mind began turning, trying to formulation another plan. “We can start more recruitments. Spread the remaining Blades throughout the coalition planets. You know Axca is already trying to turn the independent Galra to our side in the galaxies near Earth. We can contact her and-”

“That’s not the issue,” Kolivan interrupted, raising his hand. “Yes, our membership is much lower than before, but we are still evenly spread enough to gather intelligence.”

“So why aren’t we trying to infiltrate those lone groups? We can turn them against each other- set them in a war of their own,” Keith suggested.

“Because,” Krolia started, “we don’t want to divide the Galra. We want to unite them.”

Keith stared in disbelief. “Wait, wait, wait. You want to unite the Galra? After we just broke their empire apart?”

“Yes,” Kolivan said. “The new Galra Empire will be united under peace, not war. And the Blade of Marmora will lead them there.”

It took a few seconds for Kolivan’s words to sink in. “A new Galra Empire. Led by the Blade of Marmora,” Keith restated. Both Krolia and Kolivan nodded. “Forgive me for the disrespect, but are you two crazy?”

Krolia laid her hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Keith, don’t think we made this decision without thinking. The Galra respect a strong leader who isn’t afraid to step up to a challenge and is ready to fight for their right to lead. The Blades may be few, but we are elite warriors. Kolivan and I are confident that we can defeat anyone else who vies for the throne. Plus, the other Galra won’t create solid alliances with one another- they’re always waiting for a stab in the back. The Blade of Marmora is united and strong.”

“I’ve already sent messages for the remaining Blades to meet just outside the galaxy,” Kolivan said. “We will convene in five days. I would prefer it to be sooner, but… there is one choice left to make.”

Keith waited for someone to say something, but both just stared at him. “Okay, so what’s this final choice?”

His mom looked him in the eyes. “It’s yours, Keith,” she said. “Whether you come with us or stay on Earth.”

Keith must have looked quite bewildered, as Krolia carried on. “I know it’s not an easy decision to make. I…I know it’s just as hard now for me as it was the first time. I’m trying to give you as much time as I can but-”

“You will need to make a decision,” Kolivan said gruffly.

Not much in the universe scared Kolivan, but Keith was pretty sure he saw the Blade’s leader shrink a bit at the look Krolia gave him. However, Krolia just sighed deeply. “He’s right, Keith. In five days, we will need an answer. And as much as I want you to stay with me, I know it’s your choice. Just take some time to think, okay?”

Keith took a deep breath and exhaled. “Okay. I’ll think about it.”

Krolia gave a look to Kolivan, then kissed Keith’s forehead. “We’ll see you at dinner.”

Krolia and Kolivan walked out of Black’s cockpit, leaving Keith alone. 

His brain was still trying to process what had just been said. He could travel and fight with the Blades. He could help to rebuild the Galra empire. He could usher in a new age of peace all across the universe. Or, he could stay on Earth. His little shack had miraculously survived the attack, along with his hoverbike. The other paladins were here, but they all had families to return to. Keith supposed he could stay with Shiro but…there wasn’t much he had left on Earth. The universe didn’t really need Voltron anymore. He could freely join the Blades without having to worry about who would lead the team. He could find a new family with the Blades, and Krolia would always be by his side. Honestly, the decision seemed easy.

But yet again, for the hundredth time that day, ocean-blue eyes crowded Keith’s mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first Voltron work! I have the whole story planned out but it's unlikely that I'll have it done before the NYCC panel because, ya know, college is a time-killer. I am hoping to have it done before Season 8 comes out (depending on how soon that is). I have a break coming up so hopefully I can write a lot then:) By the way, the war with the Galra has been won at this point- I really just wanted to write within the characters' lives without the war going on in the background. Also, for clarification, Axca has joined the Blade of Marmora and is working on recruiting small Galran groups to the Blade's side.


	2. Chapter 2

Lance had forgotten how boring life could get when there wasn’t a war going on.

Not that he enjoyed having his life in constant danger, but at least the Galra had kept him on his toes. There was always a plan to make, training sessions to complete, and battles to win- plenty of activities for Lance to put his excess energy into. But now…nothing.

The Garrison had always been too serious in Lance’s opinion, and now it was cranked up to ten. Officers rushed by his room with arms full of paperwork, headed off to meetings about alien diplomacy or defense tactics. Cadets whispered in the hallways of their new alien neighbors or the mysterious robotic lions off in the hangars; a few had even asked Lance if they could try to fly Red, but lost interest after he tried to explain the whole paladin-lion-bond situation. If there was one good thing Lance could say about the Galra attack, it was that they had certainly put a stop to classes. Lance definitely did not need to jump back into his physics course after disappearing into space. 

And to top it all off, Lance was extremely lonely. Hunk and Pidge were always busy collaborating with various Garrison engineers and scientists on new defenses in case of another attack, so they were off the “possible hang-out” list. Shiro had made himself rather…distant. In fact, Lance wasn’t sure he’d seen him more than a few times in three days, and even then, he only came out to hold meetings with the Atlas crew. It was unusual to say the least. Usually Shiro would be on the front lines of every discussion and debate. Lance wanted to ask him if there was something else going on, but after the whole clone situation, Lance assumed he was the last person Shiro would want to open up to.

There were several times when Lance considered asking Keith to train. Offering to hack at each other with various weapons seemed to get Keith’s attention better than “hey man, want to take a walk and talk about how life kinda sucks right now?”. However, Lance was not in the mood for another lecture, and he had been on the receiving end of numerous ones from Keith. They mostly consisted of “Lance, you can’t take on one hundred fighter jets by yourself” or “Lance, don’t jump in front of a direct blast from a cruiser” or “Lance, stop trying to get yourself killed”. 

It wasn’t as if Lance was trying to do that. Red was the fastest of the lions, and if someone on his team was in danger, he was going to do whatever he could to protect them, even if he was putting himself in harms way because of it. What he didn’t understand was why Keith was so upset by it; like Keith hadn’t almost died several times due to his impulsiveness. Lance supposed it was because Keith was the leader and had an obligation to look out for his team, like Shiro did. If Voltron lost one of its paladins, Keith would feel responsible. It made sense, but…Lance couldn’t help but feel that there was something Keith wasn’t telling him.

Lance shook his head and rose from his bed. Maybe a walk would clear his mind a bit, or at least alleviate some of the uneasy tension he was feeling. That being said, Lance almost screamed when he opened the door to his room and almost collided with another person. 

“Lance!” Allura exclaimed. “I’m sorry! I was just about to knock.”

Lance rubbed the back of his neck and tried to will his heartbeat to return to normal. “Oh, uh…no worries, Princess. What’s up?”

“I was hoping I could, um, talk to you. If you aren’t busy, that is,” Allura said.

Allura’s atypical shyness caught Lance’s attention; it wasn’t like her to stumble over her words. So, Lance tried to ease the mood. “Of course, my lady. I was just about to take a walk around if you’d like to join me.” He offered his arm out to the princess.

Allura smiled and intertwined her arm with Lance’s. “I’d love to. You know, I was never given a proper tour of the Garrison. I supposed everyone had other priorities to attend to, but I’ll admit that I’ve almost been lost a few times.”

“Well, Princess, you’ve come to the right place,” Lance said. “I know every corner of this building, and the Lancey-Lance tour bus is just now leaving.”

“Alright, ‘Lancey-Lance’”, Allura teased, “where are we now?”

“Dormitory wing for the cadets,” Lance answered. “Officer dorms are in the same section, but on the next floor. See, if you take a right down this next hallway, a left down the next, and go past three more hallways, my old room is the fourth on the left.”

Allura’s eyes slightly widened. “That sounds incredibly confusing.”

“Oh, trust me, it is,” Lance chuckled. “You wouldn’t believe how many times I got lost in my first few weeks here.”

The princess laughed at that and allowed Lance to lead her on through the various hallways of the Garrison.

Next, he showed her to the food court, where he entertained her with horror stories of the sorry excuses for food served and extreme mashed potato fights. Luckily for Lance, Hunk usually whipped up something for the two of them that was far preferable to half-frozen pizzas and soggy hamburgers. Lanced chauffeured Allura through the classrooms, pointing out where he had literature, history, biology, and the dreaded physics. Other stops included the common rooms, flight simulators (Lance didn’t think Allura bought it when he claimed to have only crashed it twice), jet hangars, meetings rooms, security offices, medical center, training complex, and most importantly, the bathrooms.

“So, Lance,” Allura started as they neared the dormitories once again, “that thing I wanted to talk to you about…”

“Yes, Princess?” Lance inquired.

Allura took a deep breath. “I’ve been…thinking a lot these past few days.”

“About the war? That’s been on everyone’s minds lately.”

“Well, yes, but that’s not all I’ve been thinking about,” Allura said.

A moment of silence passed between them. “Sooo,” Lance mused, “what’s this other part?”

Allura smiled up at him. “It’s been you, Lance.”

Lance stiffened and whipped his head to Allura. “Wait, what?”

Allura laughed at his reaction. “Is it really that hard to believe? That I’d think about you?”

“Uh, yeah,” Lance said, thinking it was obvious. “That’s not exactly that kind of thing I get every day.”

“You’ll have to trust me when I say it’s true,” Allura remarked, still smiling. “This war with the Galra has lasted ten thousand years, and now it’s finally over. And I can’t help but think about how you’ve supported me through the hardest parts of it. When I became the pilot of the Blue Lion, I didn’t think that I could do it. I was so worried that I wouldn’t be able to live up to my father’s legacy, or even a small part of it. You helped me to see that I could make a difference, Lance. You told me that I was the heart of Voltron, and I could feel that you meant every word. And recently, with everything that happened with Lotor-”

“Allura,” Lance interrupted, “you know that wasn’t your fault.”

“No, Lance,” Allura sighed, “part of it was my fault. I- I let my feelings for him blind me. And I’ve accepted that, but…I didn’t realize how much it had hurt you, too. I had ignored you and turned you away. I left you out of the team. And on top of all that…I knew you had feelings for me, too. Yet I still continued with Lotor right in front of you. I never even apologized for not returning your feelings.”

“Allura, that’s not something you needed to apologize for,” Lance said softly. “I mean, you were happy with Lotor. I should’ve accepted that earlier.”

Allura smiled down at her feet. “This is what I like about you, Lance. I know I am partially at fault for trusting Lotor, and I treated you terribly. And yet, you still supported me through all of it. You never once thought to place the blame on me, even as I deserved it. You are almost too kind, Lance. I am honored to have you as a fellow paladin and a friend.” Allura paused for a moment, looking straight ahead like she was bracing for something. “And…”

Lance looked down at Allura beside him. “And?”

Allura then looked up at Lance, smiled, and stood on her toes to press her lips against his cheek. “And maybe something more.” She then let go of his arm and walked back down the hallway.  
Lance watched her go until she had disappeared from his sight.

He had dreamt about a moment like this ever since he met Allura. Usually he would’ve been the one confessing in his daydreams, but it always ended with a smile and a kiss and a ride off into the sunset. Lance should’ve been ecstatic. The girl of his dreams had just flat out said that she wanted to be more than friends, and she had kissed him to prove it.

But all Lance felt was confusion.

He’d spent months crushing on Allura. She was beautiful, smart, brave, strong, and everything else he could’ve wanted in a girl. Lance had wanted to believe that she might like him back one day, but when Lotor came along, that hope was basically thrown out the window. Yet Allura had confessed her feelings to him not even thirty seconds ago.

Lance needed more than a walk to clear his mind this time. He needed to go to his room, change, and spend a little time in the training complex. He took a few steps forward only to realize that he was already in front of his room anyways.

Allura never needed that tour. She knew where she was the entire time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, it is so much harder for me to get into Lance's head than Keith's. I apologize for the long break since Chapter 1, but I now have the time and motivation to write again. Honestly, this was the chapter that I had the least amount of planning for so I think it's definitely the hardest one I'll write. I'm just really hoping that I didn't write Allura too out of character here- I'm trying to write these characters as close to canon as possible. Anyways, I'm hoping to crank out more chapters within the next few days. I'll say that the next one is one of my favorites:)


	3. Chapter 3

If there was one thing Lance missed about the Castle of Lions, it was the privacy of the training deck.

Not only could no one see him if he happened to get zapped by a drone, but it was also readily available most of the time for solo sessions. The Garrison training complex, however, was almost always full of cadets trying to perfect their skills or officers demonstrating one-on-one techniques. Due to the Galra attack, lessons had been doubled causing every one of the numerous rooms to be in use. Lance sighed as he passed the many windows. He had almost lost hope of finding an empty spot when a single figure in the next room caught his eye.

All his mocking jokes aside, Lance had to admit that Keith fought like a whirlwind. 

Keith had no partner to fight against, but that didn’t stop him from making vicious strikes wherever he could. He slashed at his invisible enemy twice, ducked, and rolled back to avoid an apparent hit. Keith sprang to the side out of his crouched position and swiped low with his sword before bringing his bayard back up into a defensive position, slowly circling the air in front of him. Lance ducked out of the view of the window just in time to avoid being spotted.

He waited until he heard a few more grunts of effort from Keith before peeking around again. Keith seemed to be parrying strikes from various angles. After a few, Lance saw his bayard glow before it switched from Keith’s right hand to his left, and he stabbed his sword forward. Then, as if pushed, Keith threw himself backward and landed in a crouch. Lance thought this would be the end of Keith’s battle before he saw Keith narrow his eyes. Lance knew that face- it meant Keith was thinking, doing split-second calculations in his head before his next move. In less than a second, Keith dashed forward. He swung his sword around his back to build momentum up for a hard strike, but at the last second, he slid on his side between his invisible opponent’s legs, sprang up, and brought his sword down to deliver a killing blow.

Lance could see Keith breathing heavily beneath his armor, clearly satisfied with his imaginary battle. Lance was actually slightly impressed that Keith would fight that hard even without anyone attacking him, though he honestly shouldn’t have been surprised. He was fairly certain that Keith would fight a house plant if it looked threatening enough. Just before he slipped away to find another training room, Lance heard Keith’s voice muffled through the glass window:

“Hoping to pick up on some techniques, Lance?” he asked.

Lance almost cursed- Keith hadn’t even looked at him once while he was watching. How did Keith know he was there? With a grumble about cocky, emo pilots, Lance pushed open the door to the training room. “Do you have eyes in the back of your head or something, mullet?”

Keith rose and gave Lance a smirk. “A good soldier is always aware of his surroundings. Even when those surroundings include jealous spies in the window.”

“Yeah, I’m definitely jealous that I can’t murder ghosts as well as you,” Lance scoffed. 

Keith just shrugged. “It’s a good training exercise. It challenges you to think on the fly. Not just of your own moves, but also your enemy’s. Plus, your mind can think of more attacks than a Garrison officer could throw at you. Different weapons, different skill sets, different abilities.”

Lance made a dramatic groaning noise. “Only a party pooper like you would find something like that fun. I, on the other hand, prefer the honor of real combat. Fighting ghosts is a little too far below my skill level.”

“Oh, really?” Keith mused, arching an eyebrow. He lifted his sword and pointed the tip at Lance. “And just how high is this skill level you’re talking about?”

Lance willed his bayard to materialize in its standard blaster-form. “Just because you ran off with your Galra boy band doesn’t mean I stopped training. I bet I could beat you now, unless you’d rather go back to your ghost buddies. I’m sure they’re much more your speed.”

Keith huffed a laugh and started to walk towards the other end of the room. “I’ll accept your challenge, so long as you never call the Blade of Marmora a ‘Galra boy band’ in front of Kolivan.”

Lance smirked. “I won’t. But if I win, you have to tell him.”

“I actually value my life, so no,” Keith answered as he reached the end opposite Lance. “How about we settle for the typical bragging rights instead?”

Lance positioned himself in a combat stance. “You are so on, mullet.”

“On ‘Go’,” Keith called. “3…2…-”

Lance fired a shot at the ground between Keith’s feet, causing the other paladin to jump and active his shield before Lance could fire again.

“What happened to the speech about ‘honor of real combat’?” Keith yelled.

“Sorry!” Lance yelled back. “Can’t hear you over the sound of me winning!” He fired another shot into Keith’s shield. Knowing that Lance had the advantage at long-range, Keith began to advance towards Lance’s side.

Lance fired a couple shots below Keith’s shield and rolled to the side to try a better angle, forcing Keith to focus more on his shield’s position and less on getting to Lance. So long as Lance kept moving, Keith wouldn’t be able to close the distance. He faked left and leapt right, aiming at Keith’s exposed back. Just before he fired, Keith rolled out of the way and came up running. Lance a few seconds to come up with a plan before Keith would be in good sword-swinging range. He thought back to what Keith had said about his training exercise; Lance didn’t need to think like himself. He needed to think like Keith.

With an exhale, Lance began running as fast as he could towards Keith and fired all around his shield as a distraction. Keith began raising his sword and prepared to swing, but Lance dropped to his knees at the last second, slid under the sword, and fired a shot straight into Keith’s back. Though it didn’t actually pierce Keith’s armor, the force of the blast knocked him to his knees. His head whipped around to give Lance a look of surprise mixed with venom.

Lance rested his gun on his shoulder and gave Keith a condescending look. “Told you I’d been practicing. Feel free to surrender any time you want.”

Rising to his feet, Keith eyes shone with rage. If there was one thing you never wanted to do in a fight with Keith, it was to suggest that he give up. It only made him fight twice as hard. Keith yelled out a battle cry and took off in a sprint towards Lance.

Lance continued to fire at Keith and stood his ground until the last second, then dove out of the way. Before he could even turn around to fire a shot, Keith had already course-corrected and was too close for Lance’s comfort. He was now forced to go on the defensive. Lance popped his shield up as Keith’s sword clanged against it, making Lance stumble back a step. It was pretty obvious that Keith had packed on the muscle during his time with the Blade, but Lance had yet to feel the full force of that until now. Keith landed two more hits with his sword and a powerful kick before Lance’s shield arm started to ache. Just how strong did this guy get?

Lance decided he needed to give a last-ditch effort to increase his distance to Keith. Just before Keith was about to strike again, Lance jumped back out of range and shot straight towards Keith’s torso. He expected the blast to stun Keith and give him enough time to get away; what he didn’t expect was for Keith to cut the blast straight out of the air and ram his shoulder into Lance’s chest.

Thrown back by the force, Lance’s back connected with the training room’s wall. Keith followed up his previous attack by using his sword and weight of his body to pin Lance and his weapon. Lance knew that he wouldn’t be able to throw Keith’s weight off- much less take a shot- with the way his wrist was angled. 

Keith snarled in his face. “‘Feel free to surrender any time you want,’” he teased, echoing Lance’s statement from earlier.

There was no way that Lance was going to let Keith have bragging rights after this battle. Just because Keith had become taller and stronger didn’t mean that he could automatically win every fight. Lance thought through his options: he could try to sweep Keith’s feet, but Keith would probably be expecting that; spitting in Keith’s face could be a distraction, but maybe a little too harsh; maybe he could just fire wildly and hope a miracle happened. Then, Lance remembered something from a few months ago- something Keith could never expect.

“You know, mullet,” Lance started, “you were right about needing to predict your opponent’s moves. Maybe then I wouldn’t be in this position.”

Keith chuckled. “Admitting defeat already?”

Lance smirked deviously. “Maybe one day. But not right now.”

Lance’s bayard briefly glowed before shifting into an Altean broadsword. 

Keith’s victorious expression fell immediately. “What!? Since when do you have a-”

Lance brought his feet up against the wall and pushed, throwing off Keith’s balance with the element of surprise. He ran forward and swiped at Keith, who in his daze automatically raised his sword to block the strike. Using the distraction, Lance kicked at the back of Keith’s knees causing the other paladin to fall forward. Lance immediately jumped onto Keith’s back, planting a knee on each of Keith’s arms and resting the edge of his sword on the back of Keith’s neck.

“Guess there’s some moves you just can’t predict,” Lance said, now triumphant. 

Keith huffed indignantly from the floor. “How was I supposed to know your bayard has a sword form now? When did that even happen?”

“Admit I’m the winner and I’ll tell you,” Lance offered. 

“You are such a little-”

“That’s not what I asked, sore loser.”

Lance felt Keith sigh under him. “Fine,” Keith grumbled. “You win. Now get off me.”

Lance rose to his feet and briefly took in the sorry sight of Keith facedown on the floor before extending a hand. “Need a little help there, samurai?”

Keith only sighed again and didn’t look up. “No. This is too much humiliation.”

“Alright, have it your way,” Lance said, then sat down on the floor across from Keith. “You could at least have a little more dignity.”

“Says the guy who literally used a secret weapon,” Keith mumbled as pushed himself into a sitting position. “Speaking of which…?”

Lance lifted his sword. “Kicked in during training a few months ago. I was under a lot of stress for starters, kinda like today. I was pinned down by the Castle drones and knew I couldn’t fight them off with my blaster or rifle. I needed something…different. And this thing popped out.”

Keith narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean, ‘under a lot of stress’?” 

“Huh?”

“You said you were under a lot stress then, just like now,” Keith answered.

Lance gave a weak laugh. “Did I? I don’t think I did. I’m doing fine- great even. Especially after I just whopped your butt.”

Obviously, Keith didn’t buy it. “Lance, what’s going on?”

Lance’s shoulders slumped- hiding his emotions wasn’t his strongest suit. “Do you really want to know?”

“I’m still your leader, you know,” Keith said, giving a small smile. “It’s my job to-”

“Allura kissed me.”

“She what?”

“Yeah, I know!” Lance cried. “Like, why now? I’ve been crushing on her ever since I met her, and now she actually wants me too. Honestly, she could not a have picked a worse time. We just fought a war with the Galra and now I’m having a war of the heart!”

Keith was silent for several seconds before responding. “So, she just kissed you? Completely out of the blue?”

“Pretty much, yeah,” Lance answered. 

Keith’s brows furrowed as he looked at the floor. “She’s only going to break your heart.”

Lance sat up straight and looked Keith in the eye. “What are you talking about? Allura would never do that to anyone.”

“Are you so sure of that, Lance?” Keith asked. “Even after she rejected you a hundred times? So what, now she decides to like you after all this time. Doesn’t that seem a little weird to you?”

Lance crossed his arms. “Fine. Maybe. You know what, why do you even care? You never seemed to before now.”

“Because I-” Keith broke off his sentence as he looked up at Lance. “Because I’m your friend, genius. As annoying as you are, I don’t want to see you get hurt. Same as if it were any of the other paladins.”

“Oh, come on,” Lance said with a laugh. “‘I don’t want to see you get hurt’? That is pure jealousy if I’ve ever heard it.”

“Jealousy? That Allura likes you?” Keith asked angrily. “Yeah, I’m definitely jealous that I’m not part of Allura’s kiss list.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lance yelled.

“They never told you, did they?” Keith smiled sourly. “Allura kissed Lotor right before we uncovered his betrayal. Pidge saw it when she was checking the security cams. Guess you’re not the only special one.”

Lance growled before picking up his sword and rising to his feet. “I don’t care if you’re jealous, or angry, or whatever else. I don’t have to listen to you.” He turned his back to Keith, only hearing him stand by the sound of his armor moving. 

“I’m trying to make a point here, and you’re not getting it,” Keith said bitterly. “No matter how long you’ve liked her, no matter what she feels for you, no matter how many times you kiss her-”

“Stop.” Lance gripped his sword tighter.

“You will always be her second choice.”

“SHUT UP!”

Lance spun around with his sword in hand, breathing heavily. Keith had stopped talking. After taking a few moments to collect himself, Lance looked back up with fury in his eyes.

A trail of blood was leaking from a new cut on Keith’s face- a new cut that Lance had just caused.

Lance’s face fell into shock. Keith still hadn’t looked up at him, but he raised a hand slowly to touch his face; his fingers came away bloody.

“Keith…” Lance whispered. “Keith, I- I didn’t meant to-”

“No,” Keith stated, not meeting Lance’s eyes. “Just forget it.” He stormed past Lance in the direction of the door.

“Keith, please!” Lance reached out. “I’m sorry! I-”

Lance was cut off by the sound of the door slamming and could only watch as Keith passed in front of the window, then disappeared. 

Finally, the broadsword faded from Lance’s hand, along with the smear of Keith’s blood on the tip.

What had he just done?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fight scenes are hard to write, but like I said previously, this is probably one of my favorite chapters. Nothing like some good klangst thrown in there to really mess with your feelings. The next chapter should be coming soon, but it's another one that I have only a little bit of planning for. Don't worry though- it'll be just as angsty. :)


	4. Chapter 4

Keith had made his decision. He was going to leave Earth. 

The Blade of Marmora needed every soldier it had in its upcoming battles, and Keith had already informed his mother and Kolivan that he would be there on the front lines. He sent messages earlier this morning to the other paladins, including Allura, Coran, and Romelle, saying to meet him in the Lions’ hangar before dinner. Keith ran through his speech in his head one more time. The others should be showing up any minute.

Keith rested his back against the foot of the Black Lion and ran his hand through Kosmo’s fur. If there was one bright side to this, it was that the wolf would be coming too. Keith was fairly certain that Kosmo would just teleport to him anyways even he tried to leave him behind- at least there was someone here who wanted to stay with him. Sighing, Keith softly touched the bandage on his cheek. He knew that Lance hadn’t meant to injure him. Lance had already been stressed and confused, and Keith certainly didn’t help the situation. Maybe he had been a bit too harsh by saying Allura would only break Lance’s heart, not to mention bringing up her relationship with Lotor. But honestly…Keith wasn’t sure that he would’ve acted any differently given a second chance. 

He had been so sure that Allura would never return Lance’s feelings; eventually he would realize that his flirting attempts were futile. And maybe, just maybe, Lance would finally open his eyes and see that someone else had been there all along. But now…now Keith’s hopes had dwindled to almost nothing. Lance was finally getting what he wanted- it was obvious that Allura liked him now. Keith didn’t blame her at all, but he was admittedly jealous of how easy it was for her to just kiss him without any pretense. Why couldn’t it be that easy for Keith to do? Why did he have to wait in the background under the disguise of some made-up rivalry while Lance flirted with every girl he met?

However…Lance had seemed a little uneasy. He hadn’t wanted to talk about Allura’s feelings until Keith prodded at him a bit. Keith knew that Lance wasn’t the kind of person to hide his emotions, especially if they bothered him that much. Why did Lance feel like he needed to keep that encounter with Allura to himself? And what was that thing he said…having a “war of the heart”? Lance did have a right to be confused. It was just like he said- Allura had never returned his feelings before, so why was it happening now? Currently, it seemed like Lance didn’t know what to do.

Was it…was it possible that Lance was getting over Allura? The Lance from a few months ago wouldn’t have hesitated in the face of a love confession. Yet, now he was unsure and off balance. Lance still became angry at the thought of Allura’s feelings not being true, though. Obviously, there was still something there- Keith only wondered how much. He tried putting the pieces together: Allura had confessed to Lance, yet he didn’t seem completely happy about it; but, the implication that Allura’s feelings wouldn’t last irritated him; altogether, Lance was bitter, stressed, and confused. There was no way that Lance’s original crush on Allura was still fully active. Keith could feel his hands starting to grow jittery. He could have a chance. There had been times where Keith had thought that maybe Lance did like him a bit. If Lance let go of his crush on Allura, Keith could possibly try to act on those feelings, even if they were tucked away. He just needed to get Lance alone and talk to him and-

No.

Keith’s hand dropped from his cheek. His mind was flying too far away from reality. He couldn’t let his daydreams erase what had happened yesterday. Keith had seen the fury in Lance’s eyes and felt the sting of his sword across his face. He didn’t care that Lance had tried to apologize. Lance’s feelings for Allura were still strong enough to motivate anger- that was telling enough. He was still too blind and too quiznaking dense to ever realize Keith’s feelings for him. It was pointless to hope.

Besides, Keith had already made his choice. He wasn’t going to let a stupid crush get in the way.

The sound of a door opening echoed through the hangar. Keith checked the time- half an hour until the Garrison’s scheduled dinner. The other paladins were right on time. Keith stood up with a groan and attempted to mentally prepare himself one more time for what he was about to announce. A sudden shock went through him- what if Lance showed up first? He had no plan for that. What was he supposed to do, ignore Lance in silence until everyone else came along? Lance would probably try to apologize to him again, but Keith didn’t want his pity. How could he have been so stupid as to think everyone would come at once? The sound of footsteps was getting closer and closer. Keith kept his hands balled into fists until a person came around the corner.

Keith let out a small sigh of relief. “Oh. Hey, Shiro.”

Shiro gave a smile back. “Expecting someone else?”

“No!” Keith said quickly. “Uh, I mean, no. I just haven’t seen you in a bit, that’s all.”

Shiro’s smile faded quickly. “Guess I haven’t exactly been discreet about it, huh? It’s still just…a lot to take in. I’m not sure when I’ll be entirely myself again.”

Silence hung in the air for a few moments before Keith found the courage to speak. “Is it still, you know, him?”

“A lot of it, yes,” Shiro answered, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I never thought things would end up like this.”

Keith bitterly laughed. “I don’t think anyone could’ve expected it. But…take your time. You need it and deserve it.”

“Thanks,” Shiro said. He laid his human hand on Keith’s shoulder. “You and the rest of the team have kept me sane. I’m just happy we all made it through together.” 

Shiro paused for a moment as his expression changed. He pointed to the bandage on Keith’s cheek. “When did that happen?”

Keith felt his hands become a little sweaty. “Sparring practice yesterday with some cadets. One got a lucky shot in. It’s fine though- should be healed in a couple days.”

Shiro huffed and crossed his arms. “You really think I don’t know when you’re lying after all these years? Come on, spit it out.”

Before Keith could respond, the hangar door opened again. He happily welcomed the interruption.

Pidge and Hunk came in together, chatting about some new detection system. They explained to Keith that by implementing some Altean technology, they could identify enemy ships before they even entered the galaxy. Shiro questioned them about possibly adding some new features to his robot arm. Romelle entered alone but was followed by Allura and Coran after a few seconds. As Coran and Romelle cornered Pidge to inquire about the proper use of a microwave oven, Keith felt himself scowl in Allura’s direction, then mentally kicked himself for doing so. He reminded himself once again that it wasn’t Allura’s fault for liking Lance; honestly, they were kind of on the same team. Keith only wished that he could be in Allura’s place.

Well, Keith thought to himself, only one more person to go. If Lance even showed up.

He didn’t hear the door open over the sound of everyone talking. It wasn’t until he caught sight of a blue uniform that Keith realized Lance did actually come. They made eye contact for a brief moment before Keith looked away. He already had one difficult speech to make and he didn’t want to add an awkward conversation on top of it. Besides, everyone was here now. It was now or never.

Keith detached himself from the group and took a deep breath before speaking. “Um, hey guys? Hello?” Heads began to turn his way. “Hello, um, everyone. I bet you’re all wondering why you’re here.”

“Duh,” Pidge said. “Hunk has been worried sick all day. I’m pretty sure he thinks you’re dying.”

Hunk lightly hit Pidge’s arm. “I don’t think he’s dying!” He paused. “You aren’t dying, right?”

“I can confidently say that I am not dying,” Keith said with a laugh. “But there is something important that I want you all to know.”

Everyone was silent in anticipation as Keith took a breath. “We all know well enough now that the Galra have been defeated- hopefully for a long time. However, we also know that a lot of the Galra have created small, independent fleets of their own. I talked with my mom and Kolivan yesterday, and they both agree that these bands could quickly become a problem if no action is taken.”

“I’ve been assisting the Garrison engineers with upgrading Earth’s defense systems,” Coran chimed in. “If any Galra show up, they’ll be gone faster than you can say ‘King Alfor’s blotzamp’!”

“Yeah,” Hunk added. “And once our detection radar is up, they won’t even have a chance to get near the Milky Way, much less Earth.”

“All that stuff is great, guys, but that doesn’t fix the entire issue,” Keith chided. “What about the other coalition planets? The Balmera? Olkarion? These fleets will take power wherever they can find it. We need a solution that can help the entire universe.”

Allura set a hand on her hip. “And how do you suppose we do that?”

“The Galra can only be controlled by a strong leader,” Keith stated, echoing his mother’s words. “If no one is there to round up these independent groups, the whole universe will be thrown into chaos. They need to see that war cannot be their sole answer. Kolivan and the Blade of Marmora have already set plans in motion to take the Galra empire for their own. Under peace, not violence.”

“Excuse me?” Romelle asked angrily. “Why the quizzack would they think that is a good idea? We only just liberated ourselves from the Galra, and now the Blade wants to build them up again?”

“I agree with Romelle,” Allura said. “We lived under Galra oppression for over ten thousand years and I am not going to allow that to happen to my people ever again.”

Keith had been expecting this response. “I need you all to trust me when I say that the Blade’s empire will be nothing like Zarkon’s. Kolivan wants peace in the universe just as much as we all do. I wouldn’t be standing here telling you all this if I didn’t believe he had good intentions.”

Lance spoke from the back of the crowd for the first time but didn’t meet Keith’s eyes. “How can we be so sure? It’s not like we haven’t been betrayed before by people with ‘good intentions’.”

Keith couldn’t find any words to say. Luckily, Shiro filled the space for him. “I trust Kolivan. He has been loyal to the Voltron coalition since the beginning. I don’t see what he would have to gain by turning his back on us now. Plus, if Krolia is with him, I know that they won’t fail.”

Everyone took Shiro’s words into consideration. Keith gave Shiro a very grateful look, but then turned his eyes to Allura as she spoke. “Be that as it may, I would still like to discuss this plan with Kolivan and Krolia before it is put into action.”

“I would like to be part of that conversation, too,” Romelle added. 

“Did they tell you a date for their departure, Keith?” Allura asked. 

“They gave me five days when they told me their plan. It's only three days now,” he said. “Speaking of which, there is also something else I need to tell you guys. I, um…I don’t really know how to say this.”

“We’re all here for you, Keith,” Shiro said. “You can trust us.”

Keith shut his eyes to compose himself, then spoke before he lost courage. “When Kolivan and my mom leave for the Blade, I’m going with them.”

The hangar went silent. 

“You’re leaving again?” Pidge asked quietly. 

“He’s not leaving,” Hunk said hopefully. “You’re just going to help, right? You’ll be back soon.”

Keith’s heart almost broke. Leaving- again. That’s exactly what he was doing. “I don’t know, Hunk,” he admitted. “No one knows how long this could take. What I do know is that the Blade needs every single one of its members for this to succeed. I have to go.”

Once again, Shiro swooped in to save Keith at the last minute. “I think I can speak for all of us when I say that I don’t want you to leave, but I understand why. It’s very important that the Galra are pacified and kept under control. If you’re needed in the fight, then you should go. I’m proud of you for making this decision, Keith. It just shows how much you’ve grown.”

“I agree,” Allura said. “This choice is your own. I for one think it’s very noble of you to continue the fight for the universe’s freedom even without Voltron.” Coran and Romelle nodded in accordance with Allura’s statement. 

More comments were passed around about being proud of Keith and whatnot, but Keith didn’t pay attention to any of them as he attempted to quickly glimpse Lance’s reaction. Raising his eyes, Keith found Lance staring straight back at him. Shocked. Maybe a little angry. But most of all, his features displayed hurt. Lance’s arms were slack at his sides and his mouth was a thin line. Even from a distance, Keith could see the only question in Lance’s eyes: is this my fault?

Keith didn’t know how to convey his answer. Was it entirely Lance’s fault? No. Did Lance have an influence on his decision? Yes. There wasn’t much that could’ve kept Keith on Earth. He had no home. The paladins were his only friends. Voltron wouldn’t constantly be needed anymore. The Blade gave him somewhere to fit in and keep busy. Plus, he’d be with his mom that way. Truthfully, the only thing behind Keith’s hesitation to leave was Lance. If by some miracle Lance asked him to stay, he would. He’d do it in a heartbeat. But it wasn’t going to happen. Lance might be hurt now but he had already hurt Keith deeper than he even knew. There was nothing left here for Keith. Nothing at all.

“What if something bad happens and we need Voltron?” Pidge asked, interrupting Keith’s thoughts. “We’re not completely in the clear yet. Who will pilot the Black Lion?”

“You don’t need to worry about that,” Keith said confidently. “If you need me, I’ll always be here for Voltron.”

Keith locked eyes with Lance and made a last-ditch effort to put his feelings across. “And I’ll be here for all of you, too.”

Lance looked away for a moment. His brows narrowed at the floor before Keith saw his eyes go wide. Lance only glanced at Keith one last time before quickly turning around and heading towards the hangar door. Keith didn’t see him for the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was actually kinda hard to write, but I'm proud of it nonetheless. Just a warning- I'm not sure how long it will be until the next chapter is up. For starters, it's likely going to be a long one. Also, this book called Kingdom of Ash is coming out on Tuesday and it's almost 1000 pages so that's definitely going to take up my time. (Btw, if you haven't read the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas, you definitely should.) However, I'm really excited for the next chapter so hopefully that will give me motivation to finish it quicker:)


	5. Chapter 5

Lance spent half of the night staring at the ceiling and trying to turn his jumbled thoughts into something that made sense. 

First, Allura had kissed him without any warning and heavily implied that she wanted to be more than friends. Then, Keith claimed that Allura would break Lance’s heart leading to Lance slicing him across the face with a sword. And just a few hours ago, Lance found out that Keith was leaving with the Blade of Marmora for an indeterminate amount of time. He didn’t need to have Pidge’s brain to realize that these events were probably all connected. 

Lance figured that he had a role in Keith’s decision to leave. If their roles had been reversed, Lance definitely wouldn’t feel welcomed by Keith anymore after being injured. He had never meant to hurt Keith and he hoped that Keith realized that, but it seemed as though none of that would matter now. What was done was done. Lance was fairly certain there was no way to get Keith to stay now.

And that…that was the problem. Keith had already left once. Lance had just been starting to accept being Keith’s right-hand man and thought that maybe, just maybe, they were putting their rivalry in the past and working towards a friendship together. When Keith left, Lance couldn’t help but feel like he had a part taken from him. It was weird, but it made sense. He hadn’t realized how much he wanted that friendship; Keith was surprisingly easy to talk to and had helped him to feel more comfortable in his position as a paladin. Without that stability he had quickly become used to, Lance was thrown off-balance. 

Now, Keith was leaving once again; but somehow, it was different from last time. Something had changed. The problem was that Lance wasn’t entirely sure what. His mind went blank after Keith said he was going to leave- he barely heard anything after that. Just like last time, Lance felt like someone had ripped the ground out from under him. They just defeated the Galra for quiznak’s sake, and now Keith felt like he could run off with the Blade again? He wanted to ask Keith why. Why did he feel like he had to run to the next battle? Why couldn’t Keith realize that the team still needed him? Why did he have to go running off right when Lance was confused and struggling- when he needed Keith the most?

Whoa.

Lance sat up in his bed and took some heavy breaths. He needed Keith. Somehow, he just knew. He didn’t know when it had actually happened, but it just now came to him in sudden clarity. Maybe it had always been there. Lance’s rivalry with Keith gave him cause to strive to be the best. It had made him want to be a better pilot, and later a better paladin. Keith had even reassured Lance about his position on the team when he was doubting it most. He was Keith’s second-in-command; there wasn’t much of a better position than that. And when Keith was gone…that’s what the emptiness was. 

Did…did Keith need him, too?

Lance didn’t know. There had been times when Keith was lacking confidence in his leadership, and it was Lance’s job to build him back up. After his time with the Blade, though, Keith’s confidence shot up. He didn’t need to be reassured; Keith simply knew what to do and when he needed to do it. Maybe he needed Lance at one point, but he probably didn’t anymore.

Despite all that, Lance couldn’t help but think of the last thing Keith had said before Lance walked out. Keith’s expression had been unreadable, but he looked directly at Lance when he said he’d be there for all the paladins. Why only seek Lance out when he was addressing everyone? Unless…maybe he wasn’t addressing everyone. If Keith only wanted Lance to hear those words, then that meant that Keith would always be there for Lance.

Always. Lance smiled at that.

Oh no. No no no no no. Why was he smiling? This was certainly not how thing were supposed to be going. He was Keith’s friend- strictly his friend. There was nothing more between them. He was just, you know, happy that he’d be able to talk to Keith again. 

Sometime. 

After Keith came back from helping the Blade conquer the Galra Empire. 

Whenever that may be. 

After he was probably going to miss Keith for weeks. Or months. Or years.

Lance groaned and stood up, then walked to his bathroom and turned on the sink. He threw a few handfuls of cold water into his face before staring at himself in the mirror.

“I do not like Keith,” he said to his reflection. “I. Do. Not. Like. Keith.” 

Lance was supposed to like Allura: the beautiful princess, the girl of his dreams, and someone who actually liked him back. He was not supposed to like a guy with a bad hairstyle and anger issues who happened to be his teenage rival.

His mind was not convinced.

“Alright,” Lance ceded. He closed his eyes and said quietly, “I do like Keith.” Lance looked up at the mirror again and stared straight into his own eyes. “I like Keith.”

Warmth started spreading in his chest. His head felt a little fuzzy. 

Lance needed to talk to someone immediately; he always worked through his problems better if he was able to talk them through with someone. However, according to the clock on his bedside table, it was almost two in the morning. Talking would have to wait until sunrise. 

Who would he even go to? It was clear that going to Allura or Keith was off-limits. Lance assumed that Pidge and Hunk would be just as busy as ever. Plus, after how they treated his crush on Allura…he wasn’t sure that he would want to talk about this with them anyways. He needed someone who understood him and Keith. He needed someone who was good at giving advice and wouldn’t judge him for his feelings. 

Lance walked back to his bed and sighed as he pulled the covers over his chest. He’d make a plan tomorrow. But for now, Lance only closed his eyes and hoped he’d see no mullets in his dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have returned! (BTW, Kingdom of Ash was amazing) I know that this chapter is shorter that usual. I was planning on this chapter and the next being combined into one, but I decided that they would probably work better as separate chapters. Plus, I really just wanted to get an update out. So, due to one chapter being divided into two, the entire work will likely have 11 chapters now instead of 10. That being said, the next chapter will probably be longer than usual. There's a lot to be revealed, so stay tuned:)


	6. Chapter 6

If Lance was ever voluntarily awake before ten a.m., it meant that something urgent was going on.

In his opinion, this was definitely one of those times. Lance had woken up around eight o’clock, but anxiously waited until nine. There was a lot that Lance needed to get off his chest, and he figured that barging into someone’s room too early in the morning would not cause a pleasant conversation. He guessed that most of the Garrison would be awake by then.

Lance’s first task was finding out where exactly to go. He knew that the officer dormitories were a level above his own; however, wandering through the endless grid of hallways until he found the room he was looking for would not be a great use of his time. So, Lance stopped the few officers he saw walking through and asked them to point him in the right direction. Finally, after asking three others who were less than helpful, one gave him a room number. Now, Lance stood in front of said room and tried to stop his hands from shaking long enough to knock.

Lance breathed deeply through his nose and sighed. “Guess its now or never,” he mumbled to himself. He knocked on the door.

No answer.

Lance put his ear against the door to see if he could hear movement, but nothing came through. After a few seconds, he knocked again.

“Hello? It’s me, Lance,” he called a little louder. This time, Lance heard faint footsteps before the door swung open.

Shiro’s smile seemed forced. “Hey, Lance. What brings you here?”

“Oh, nothing much,” Lance answered nonchalantly. “I, uh…I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

“Not at all.” Shiro waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. 

“Good. That’s good. Super good, in fact.”

Shiro raised an eyebrow. “Is there something on your mind, Lance?”

Lance’s weak smile strained. “Uh…yeah. I kinda came here to talk to you about that.”

Stepping out of the doorway, Shiro waved arm into the room. “Make yourself comfortable.”

Lance had always been jealous of the officer dorms. He supposed the room he had now was an upgrade from when he was a cadet; at least now he didn’t have to worry about a roommate and he had his own bathroom. Still, the officer dorms were way nicer. Each had a nice bed, a sitting area, small kitchen appliances, a TV, and a worktable desk among other things. There was something off about Shiro’s room, though. The bed wasn’t made. Dishes were stacked up on the counter. Piles upon piles of paper were strewn all over the desk. The space didn’t remind Lance at all of the confident, put-together Shiro he knew. But Lance was a nice guy, so he didn’t mention it.

Lance plopped down onto the small sofa in front of the TV. “Guess you probably want to know why I’m here, huh?”

“That was going to be my next question,” Shiro admitted, then sat down next to Lance.

“I just needed someone to talk to,” Lance said. “Pidge and Hunk are always super busy, and even though they’re my friends, I don’t think I can go to them about this. I probably could’ve asked someone in my family, but honestly? They’re terrible at giving advice.”

Shiro gave a small chuckle at that. “Okay, so those options are out. Why not Allura? Or Keith?”

Lance took a deep breath and splayed his hands out. “That’s the thing. Both of them are kinda part of this problem. Well, not kinda. They are the problem. And, I mean…I trust you. You’re a good guy, Shiro. I don’t think you’d judge me too harshly for anything.”

Shiro’s smile was genuine this time. “Thank you, Lance. I…wasn’t sure if you’d trust me after the clone incident. I know that I- he treated you horribly. I’m happy to know that you still consider me to be your friend.” 

Lance gave a small nod before Shiro went on. “So this…problem you’re having. Allura and Keith caused it? Did they say something to you?”

“Yes and no,” Lance admitted. “It’s not just them- it’s me, too. And I just…I don’t know what to do.”

Crossing his arms, Shiro leaned back into the couch. “Why don’t you just start from the beginning?”

“Yeah,” Lance breathed. “Okay. So, about two days ago, Allura asked me to give her a tour around the Garrison. It was fun and all, but she seemed really nervous about something the entire time. Then she thanked me for believing in her these past few months, what with the lion switching and the whole Lotor situation. And then…I still can’t believe this actually happened. She told me that she wanted to be more than friends and kissed me.”

Shiro looked at him with a confused expression. “Allura kissed you?”

“Yep.”

“And said that she wants to be more than friends with you?”

“Also that.”

“But you don’t seem happy about it.”

“Aaaaand that,” Lance sighed, “that is the problem. I should be happy. I think I might’ve been at first, but then I started thinking about it. I really like Allura, don’t get me wrong. But…I think I might’ve started to let go of her when Lotor came along. I didn’t like him by any means, but he made her happy. I knew that there was a very, very small chance of her ever liking me at that point. I guess I just don’t know what to think now. Allura’s smart and strong and beautiful, but I…I’m thinking that in a more respectful way now, I think. It’s admiration. Not a crush.”

“Well, at least that part means you’ve grown, Lance,” Shiro said. “You put Allura’s happiness above your own. That’s not something that people do easily.”

“Yeah, yeah I know. But there’s something else. Something that someone told me recently,” Lance continued. “Allura really liked Lotor. She even kissed him, too. Even if she likes me now…man, I just don’t want to be her second choice. And look, I know Allura would never see it like that. But that doesn’t mean that the thought doesn’t hurt a bit.”

“Okay,” Shiro started, “I see your problem here. Allura clearly likes you now, but you’re not sure that you like her romantically anymore, right?”

“That’s about it, yup,” Lance answered. 

“Where does Keith fit into all of this?”

Lance’s shoulders drooped. He had almost forgotten this part- almost. As if it hadn’t kept him up half the night. “Things got…bad between us. We started out sparring, but after that, I let it slip that I came to train because I was stressed out. Keith asked me why, I told him the stuff about Allura, he got all defensive and angry. He said Allura would only break my heart. I got angry and he kept pushing and…I messed up, Shiro.”

Shiro’s brows furrowed together. “What happened?”

“I injured him,” Lance revealed. “I was just so angry that I wasn’t thinking. I swung my sword and cut Keith right across the face. He stormed out before I could say anything, and I haven’t talked to him since.”

“You were the one who did that?” Shiro asked, with a little bit of an edge to his tone. “Keith told me that a cadet got a lucky shot in.”

Lance sat up a bit straighter. Keith lied for him? And to Shiro of all people? Keith had seemed so angry after that happened; Lance thought Keith would jump at the first chance to blame him. “Really?” he asked. “I thought Keith would’ve told you that.”

“Seems like it was something he wanted to hide.”

“I didn’t mean to do it, Shiro,” Lance pleaded. “I would never intentionally hurt Keith.”

“I know that, Lance. You still shouldn’t have let your anger get the best of you, even with everything that Keith said,” Shiro advised. Then, he sighed and looked over at Lance. “But I have a suspicion that that isn’t the only thing bothering you.”

Lance gave a weak laugh. “You’re right about that.”

“So, what else is it?”

This was the moment Lance had been dreading, but he had prepared. “Let me put it this way. I knew that one day, Allura would have to leave. Even if we defeated the Galra, even if we got back to Earth, she wouldn’t be able to stay. I hated the idea of that, but I knew that it would be for the greater good. She’d be helping the universe like she always wanted. I didn’t want to get in the way of that.”

“It’s understandable,” Shiro remarked.

Lance continued. “Yeah. See, I knew she’d leave but I wouldn’t make her stay.” He waited a moment before giving a half-pleading look to Shiro.

Thankfully, he seemed to get the implication. “And now, Keith is doing that same thing.”

“I guess he is, just like he did before,” Lance said a little bitterly. Despite that, Lance could feel that new warmth creeping into his chest, just like it did last night. His hands started shaking again. “With Allura, I’d let her go,” he repeated. “But now, with Keith…”

Shiro leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees. “You can tell me, Lance.”

Now or never. “I feel like I’d do anything to make him stay.”

Lance rambled on before he lost the small amount of confidence he had left. “It’s weird, I know. I didn’t even realize it until last night. Maybe it’s always been there, I don’t know. It kinda felt the same way when he left the first time. No offense to you, but…I felt a lot better when Keith was our leader. For the first time, I felt accepted- like my opinion mattered. Keith relied on me, and I relied on him.” Lance’s throat was starting to burn. “I…I almost thought that he needed me. But then he ran away from us, and I was just left with some kind of hole inside me. A void. And now, after everything we’ve been through-”

Lance’s voice broke. “He’s leaving us again. He’s…he’s leaving me again. And I think…I think I need him now more than I did then. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, Shiro.” He buried his head in his hands.

Shiro ran a soothing hand over Lance’s back. “Hey. It’s okay. Trust me when I say that none of us want Keith to leave. But…he is going for the greater good. He’s trying to bring peace to the universe, and we should support him in that.” Shiro’s hand stilled, then pulled away. After a pause, he cleared his throat. “Are you…are you sure that you just want him to stay? Is there something else you might be feeling here?”

Lance pulled his face out of his hands. “What do you mean?”

Shiro looked Lance in the eye. “Maybe something a little more than friends?”

Lance’s face fell back into his hands as he let out a muffled- but dramatic- whine of: “I don’t knooooooowww…” 

Shiro’s hand returned to pat Lance on the back. “Look, it’s okay if you do. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Trust me.”

Flumping back into the couch, Lance repeated, “I don’t know, Shiro. I mean, I’ve always liked girls. All my crushes have been girls. Allura is a girl. Maybe there were a few guys I saw in my sister’s magazines that were attractive, but it was never someone that I actually knew. The idea of liking a guy, especially a guy that I know, a guy like Keith…”

A few agonizing moments of silence passed before Lance felt Shiro stand up. Giving a small smile, Shiro said, “I want to show you something.” 

He walked across the room to a counter with several drawers and cabinets. Shiro opened the top drawer, picked something out, then walked back and sat next to Lance once again before handing a photograph to Lance. The picture showed two guys in Garrison uniforms- probably in their late teens. It was clear that one of them was Shiro; he had the same face and build, but his hair was back to his normal black. The other one…Lance couldn’t quite put his finger on it. The tanned skin, sandy-colored hair, and a pair of black-rimmed glasses.

Lance squinted his eyes. “That guy looks kinda familiar. Should I know him?”

Shiro’s smile diminished. It was almost as if some sort of light had drained from his eyes. “That's Adam. He used to be an officer at the Garrison, like me. You probably saw him walking around. He was my fiancé.”

Lance’s eyes went wide. “He was your WHAT?”

A surprised laugh burst out of Shiro. “He was my fiancé, Lance. I was going to marry him.”

“I know what fiancé means!” Lance blurted. “But you…you like guys?”

“Yes, Lance, I like guys,” Shiro answered. “And exclusively guys.”

Lance couldn’t think of anything to say after that. It didn’t change the way he saw Shiro. His former leader was still as brave and strong as ever, but Lance’s point-of-view changed a bit. If it was okay for someone like Shiro to like guys, then wasn’t it okay for him, too?

Shiro must’ve sensed his hesitation, for he continued, “I guess it’s my turn to start at the beginning, huh?” He took a deep breath. “Adam and I enrolled at the Garrison at the same time. We were put in the same classes with the same teachers, had the same lunch schedule and everything. The thing was, both of us were really talented. The officers noticed that we were moving faster than the other cadets, so they paired us up as flight partners. I’m thankful for that now, but then? I hated it more than anything in the world.”

“Adam and I…we both came from less than fortunate families, let’s say. The Garrison gave us a chance to prove to the world that we could be great. Because of that, we were constantly trying to one-up each other. A few seconds faster in the simulator, an extra point on an exam, so on and so forth. Guess you could say we had a bit of a rivalry going on.” Shiro gave Lance a knowing look.

Lance frowned back and crossed his arms. “Haha, very funny.”

“But, we didn’t stay rivals forever,” Shiro stressed. “A few weeks into our second year, I started to notice that Adam was struggling. It was almost as if he didn’t care anymore. He started skipping his classes and crashed the simulator more times than he passed. I knew I should’ve been happy about it, but I wasn’t. What was the point of trying to be the best if I had no one to compete with? I finally got up the courage to ask him what was wrong, but he brushed me off.”

“You’re not someone who lets things like that go easily, though,” Lance interjected.

“You’d be right about that. I didn’t stop trying to get Adam to trust me. I started sitting next to him at lunch, then correcting him in flight drills, then secretly passing him test answers. Eventually, he took me up on my offer for studying together. At the time, I honestly didn’t know why I was doing it. I thought that I was just being stubborn, but then I found out why Adam was lagging. Over the summer, his parents had told him that they didn’t want him going back to the Garrison. It didn’t matter how much Adam wanted to be a fighter pilot in their minds. They refused to pay his tuition. He had enough money from a relative to get him through the semester, but he had no idea what to do after that. Adam was only slacking off because he wanted the Garrison to kick him out rather than having to leave.”

“Whoa,” Lance breathed, “that’s…harsh. What did you do?”

Shiro’s sad smile returned. “I did what any friend would do. After Adam went back to his room, I spent hours searching on my laptop for scholarships he could get. The next day, I gave him a list of those scholarships, plus essay topics and a checklist that some professor deemed ‘How to Get the Best Scholarships Without Trying Too Hard’.”

“You did all of that just for him?”

“And helped him write those scholarship essays,” Shiro added. His smile grew brighter. “Adam was on edge for weeks after we sent the letters, and I’ll admit that I was, too. But let me tell you, the look on his face after he got his first one? It made everything worth it, and more.”

“Did he ever thank you for it?” Lance asked.

Shiro snorted. “More than was necessary. He tried to give me his dessert after dinner for weeks before he finally got the hint that I wasn’t going to take it. Anyways, Adam became my best friend. We were practically inseparable for the rest of the year. But then, summer break came around. I hated the idea of him having to go back to a family that denied him his dreams, but I couldn’t have him stay with me the entire summer, either. It drove me nuts. I think that summer was when I realized that I didn’t just want Adam to be my friend anymore.”

“The next year, I was a pining mess,” Shiro laughed. “I was surprised he didn’t catch on earlier- I was hopelessly obvious. Somehow, he didn’t notice me stumbling over my words or blushing every time he laughed. At least, I didn’t think that he did until a few days before Christmas. He convinced me to sneak out with him onto the Garrison’s roof. I had been about to ask him why he wanted to go outside in the middle of December when he kissed me.”

“What’s with people and surprise kisses?” Lance exasperated. “I mean, it’s romantic and all, but give a guy some warning!”

Shiro just smirked in Lance direction. “I didn’t mind.”

“Groooooooss,” Lance groaned. Sure, he was acting dramatic, but he knew why Shiro was telling him this. After all, the story did make Lance feel more comfortable; plus, the whole rivals to friends to lovers fiasco sounded pretty familiar. However, there was one part that had been eating at Lance since the beginning. He cleared his throat before speaking again.

“Earlier, you said that Adam WAS your fiancé,” he stated. “What happened?”

He really wanted to know, but Lance felt terrible as soon as he saw Shiro’s expression. His reminiscent smile turned into a hard line. His brows furrowed as his eyes dropped down. All the happiness that Shiro had just shown when talking about Adam disappeared in a second flat. 

“I’m sorry,” Lance said hurriedly. “You don’t have to tell me.” 

Shiro closed his eyes for several seconds before exhaling sharply. “It’s alright, Lance. You trusted me, so I’m going to trust you. It might actually be beneficial to get this off my chest.”

He paused a few more seconds before continuing. “Adam and I dated for several years before I proposed to him. That day was the happiest I’ve ever been, but that feeling didn’t last long. You see, I had this…condition. To put it plainly, I had a disease in my muscles that caused them to slowly deteriorate.” Shiro caught Lance’s worried look. “There’s no need to worry now, Lance. The one good thing that the Galra did was create my clones without the disease. It’s gone now, but at the time, I knew I only had a few more years before it would get really bad. Adam, he…he wanted to make those years the best that he could. He didn’t care that I’d be in a wheelchair before I even turned thirty-five. He only wanted me to be happy- happy with him.”

“I was offered a spot by Sam Holt on the Kerberos mission just six months after Adam and I got engaged. It was just what I had dreamed about even before I walked through the doors of the Garrison for the first time. Finally, I was getting my chance to prove I could be great, and it would happen before my muscles started giving out. If I didn’t take the offer, I’d lose my last chance at achieving my dreams. I was…extremely torn. The mission was dangerous- no one had traveled that far from Earth before. I knew the risks, but I was still determined. But Adam wanted me to stay. Ultimately, he gave me a choice. I could refuse the mission and live the rest of my able days on Earth with him, or I could go to Kerberos, but at the cost of losing him.”

Shiro took a shaky breath. “And I chose Kerberos.”

Lance was in shock. “You…you broke off your engagement?” Shiro nodded, but the wheels in Lance’s head kept turning. “But you’re back now, aren’t you? Sure, you got abducted by evil purple aliens and stuff, but you made it back alive. Can’t you guys get back together? If you guys were so in love, then I’m sure that-”

“Because life doesn’t always give you a happy ending, Lance,” Shiro snapped back. His jaw was clenched, and both hands were in fists at his sides. Shiro really didn’t have to do much to be intimidating, but when he did, it made every cell in Lance’s body want to run.

Lance shrunk into the couch. “I’m…I’m sorry,” he said quietly, trying to mask the slight shake to his voice. “I didn’t mean to make it worse, I guess. I’ll just…I’ll leave if you want me to.”

One of Shiro’s fists relaxed. “It’s…no,” Shiro whispered. “I…”

Lance gave Shiro the time that he needed. He knew that he had hit some hidden nerve in Shiro. What exactly had caused that, he wasn’t sure, but he wasn’t going to ask again to find out. Lance was about to get up to leave when Shiro took another shaky breath.

“Adam was one of the first fighter pilots sent out when Sendak first attacked Earth,” Shiro said softly. “He was killed within seconds.”

Lance’s heart stopped.

“I…I didn’t even see him,” Shiro croaked out. “I was too late. When I left for Kerberos, I-” His voice broke. “I never said a final goodbye. That is one of the biggest regrets I will ever have.”

Lance didn’t know what to say. It was one thing to break off an engagement before leaving, but it was another thing entirely to come back only to find out that the person you loved had died. He didn’t think there was anything he could say that would make it better.

“Shiro, I…,” Lance started, “I’m so, so sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Shiro ran a hand down his face to regain his composure. “Lance…I think that this was something that you needed to hear, and something I needed to relieve myself of. As of right now, only you and Keith know about this. I’ll tell the others when I’m ready, but-”

“I won’t tell them anything if you don’t want me to,” Lance promised.

“Thank you, Lance,” Shiro said, attempting a small smile. “But like I said, this was something I think you needed to hear. Sometimes, there are people in our lives that we need. We may not know that we need them, or we just refuse to acknowledge that we do, but that doesn’t change anything. I know now that I needed Adam. I need him more than anything else, but I didn’t realize how much until he was gone. I guess what I’m trying to say is…if you feel like you need Keith, you should tell him. Call whatever feelings you have for him what you want, but it’s not going to help either of you to stay silent.”

Lance sighed and wrapped his arms around himself. “I know I should talk to him but…Shiro, it’s scary. Scarier than facing Zarkon. I don’t even know what I’d say to him.”

“I know that Keith is…complicated, to say the least.”

“That is the biggest understatement of the century.”

“But here’s something he won’t tell you,” Shiro continued. “He’s fragile. He puts up a rough exterior, but he feels much more emotion than he lets on. I know it’s going to be hard and scary, but I have a feeling that things will get better if you two talk it out. And who knows what he’ll say back. You might just get lucky, like I did.”

Warmth started to spread in Lance’s chest again. Shiro was probably right- it was almost impossible to get any extreme emotion besides anger out of Keith. Yet, Lance knew that if anyone else would be able to get it Keith, it would be him. This time would be different to say the least, but it could be completely worth it. 

“Yeah,” Lance finally answered. “I’ll think about it.” He stood up off the couch to head towards the door. “Thanks, Shiro. You helped me a lot.”

“Anytime, Lance,” Shiro answered. “I hope everything works out for you two.”

Lance only gave a nod before opening the door and stepping out into the hallway. Thoughts danced around in his head as he navigated the maze of corridors back to his own room: how would he get Keith alone; would Keith even want to talk to him; what if Keith had already secretly left for the sole purpose of not having to see Lance ever again? 

Nope. Lance had decided that he wasn’t going to think that way. He had to talk to Keith whether he liked it or not, so mentally wearing down his confidence was not going to get him anywhere. If anything, he needed to decide how exactly he was going to go about the conversation. If he was going to confess his feelings to Keith, he was going to make it good. 

Finally back in his room, Lance flopped down onto his bed. That therapy session with Shiro had been mentally exhausting for both parties involved, but it had helped more than Shiro probably knew. It solidified Lance’s resolve. He wasn’t going to let his story with Keith end like Shiro’s did. He’d do everything that he could to make Keith stay.

Thinking back on the last thing Shiro said, Lance sighed into the empty room. 

“I sure hope so, too, Shiro.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy angst everyone! This chapter amounted to like eight pages. It doesn't seem like much but most of the others were around like 4-5 pages. Anyways, I've been waiting to write this conversation between Lance and Shiro since the beginning. Like the chapter with Allura, I hope I didn't write Shiro too OOC. Also, I'm changing the chapter count on this story again (sorry!). It's going back to being ten chapters- I had another one planned, but I've already put some stuff in earlier chapters that basically takes up everything that other chapter was going to be about. So now we're over halfway through:)


	7. Chapter 7

After two days, the cut on Keith’s face was starting to heal.

It still hurt when he touched the bandage, in more ways than one. He was remined of that interaction with Lance every time he saw himself in the mirror. It was as if that cut extended beyond his cheek, into his chest, and through his heart. Keith still remembered everything in detail: the bubbling fury inside himself, the pure anger on Lance’s face, the drop off his stomach when he felt the sting of Lance’s sword. He tried desperately to push those thoughts out of his mind and focus on the upcoming mission, but it was no use. 

That was stupid in itself. Keith knew very well that he was going to have to leave tomorrow, just like his mother and Kolivan had said. No pining crush was going to prevent that from happening. He needed to familiarize himself with the new Blade members. He needed to draw up battle plans and run them by Kolivan. He needed to get all of his junk out of Black’s cargo hold. So much needed to be done, but those blue eyes were not leaving Keith’s mind.

Currently, Keith was attempting to do the third thing on that list. Containers were thrown open everywhere around the cargo hold displaying old clothes, unfinished boredom drawings, and the occasional souvenir from a far-off planet. Nearly three-quarters of all the containers, Keith had discovered, only included spare parts and repair tools; he made a mental note to ask Pidge and Hunk about those at dinner. Assuming that every container in that particular pile was of no use to him, Keith turned back around in search of his own belongings.

He almost jumped out of his skin when he nearly ran into his mother standing behind him. And then he broke into laughter when he realized both of them automatically took on a fighting stance.

“Jeez, mom,” Keith started, “I didn’t even hear you.”

Krolia gave a light laugh. “It’s the training, I suppose. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Settling back down on the floor in front of a new box, Keith said, “It’s alright. I’m just trying to get some last-minute things together. Did you need something?”

“I don’t think that I need something particularly,” Krolia answered, leaning back against a crate of metal sheets. “But I think that you do.”

Keith froze. “What do you mean?"

Krolia smirked down at him. “Keith, I may not have been with you long, but I am still your mother. I know that you distract yourself when something is on your mind, and you’ve been finding the most mundane tasks to do for the past three days.”

“It’s just the mission,” Keith stated, then busied his hands with pulling some sketched-up papers from a small box. “We leave tomorrow. Am I not allowed to be worried?”

“Yes, you are, but there is something else, isn’t there?”

“Mom. I’m fine. Trust me,” Keith insisted.

Krolia sighed and crossed her arms but didn’t say anything else. Keith wasn’t going to say anything else if she wasn’t going to ask, so he went on clearing out the box in his lap. There were a few sketches of Kosmo, a full picture of the Green Lion, a side-profile of Hunk Keith had drawn while the Yellow Paladin was making dinner, a Marmoran blade, several alien landscapes, and numerous pages of small doodles. At the bottom of the box, Keith found a piece of paper that had been folded up. It must have been from a while ago since he didn’t remember what was on the page. Curiosity got the best of him and he unfolded the sketch.

Now Keith remembered.

It was from a while ago: before the Castle of Lions had been destroyed, before Keith had met Krolia, before Shiro disappeared. The team had been preparing for their battle with Zarkon and everyone was on edge. Shiro was off with Coran and Allura talking strategy. Hunk had been chatting with Pidge while whipping something up for lunch in the kitchen. Keith had sat off to the side at a table with Lance, who was intently focused on playing some electronic game Pidge had made. He hadn’t even noticed when Keith opened his sketchbook.

He had a look on his face that Keith rarely ever saw. Lance’s brows were furrowed in concentration. His eyes were downcast, but still open enough for Keith to see a hint of blue, with his long eyelashes almost resting against his cheekbones. His long and pointed nose. His slender neck. His lips, always with a fresh coat of chapstick. Lance was simply resting back in his chair with his long legs propped up on another. The pose was completely Lance, but almost…vulnerable, in a way. Lance had his persona- the loverboy, the joker, the sharpshooter. But here? He was just Lance. And he was beautiful.

“So that's what this is all about.”

“Mom!” Keith yelled. “You need to stop coming up behind me like that!”

Krolia smiled. “Maybe you should not get distracted by pretty drawings.”

Keith sighed and folded the paper back up. “It’s just a sketch. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Are you sure about that, Keith?” Krolia asked knowingly. “I’ve seen the way you look at that boy.”

“And what about it?”

“It’s the same way your father always looked at me.”

Keith glanced up at his mother. “Is it really that obvious?” he asked nervously.

Krolia chuckled. “To me? Yes. But I don’t think that boy – Lance, is it? – has noticed yet.”

“Of course he hasn’t,” Keith exasperated, “and it’s becoming clear that he never will.”

“And how do you know that?”

“You haven’t been around him as long as I have, mom,” Keith answered, then sighed. “He’s in love with someone else. A girl- the princess, to be more specific. He has been ever since he first met her, and now she’s even starting to like him back. It’s not like he’s going to do a complete turn-around now and go for the guy he’s had a rivalry with since we were thirteen.”

“You’ll never know what could happen if you’re never willing to try,” Krolia said, as if that was the easiest solution. “Stranger things have happened in my life.”

Keith slouched back against a box. “Mom, you’re not helping.”

“Look, Keith,” Krolia said, her expression turning more serious, “love is…scary.”

“That is a total understatement,” Keith stated.

Krolia walked over and sat down next to her son. “Trust me, I know that more than anyone. It’s terrifying, and it’s never easy. Definitely never convenient, either. You never see it coming. One day, it just shows up, crashes your ship, leads you to a man in the middle of nowhere-”

“Or a giant blue robot lion in a cave,” Keith suggested.

“Hey, I had that happen to me, too.”

Both of them laughed at that, then Krolia carried on. “Sometimes it can seem like love messes up your entire life to the point where you’re not sure if you can go back to living your life as it once was. It jumbles up your mind and makes you think in ways you never would have considered before. It clouds your judgement. It even makes you wonder if all those things that led you to love were even worth it in the first place.”

“Again,” Keith interjected, “you’re really not helping.”

“But,” Krolia said pointedly, “you learn to be grateful for all those things. You’re grateful that your life has been entirely changed. You’re grateful that there is a person that thinks of you just as much as you think of them. Love creates so much beauty and wonder in your life that you’re grateful for finding that giant blue robot lion in a cave. You are so incredibly thankful for every trial and disappointment that led you to where you are, and who you’re with. Love led me to your father and you, Keith. I will never regret that a day in my life.”

Keith went silent for several seconds. What his mom had just said…wasn’t that entirely what he wanted with Lance? Everything that had happened had led him to Lance: enrolling at the Garrison, following the Blue Lion’s energy into the desert, Shiro being abducted by the Galra, and finally meeting Lance once again to rescue Shiro. It had been chaotic and crazy, along with Keith’s life being in danger more than a few times, but…he was grateful for it. He remembered all his bickering matches with Lance. He remembered the feeling of Lance’s unconscious body in his arms after their first battle with Sendak. He remember Lance coming to him of all people about his insecurities. Keith was thankful for every single minute. All those events had led him here, sitting in the Black Lion’s cargo bay with his long-lost mother discussing the millions of feelings swirling around in his head. He swallowed hard before speaking again.

“It wouldn’t make a difference whether I stay or leave, would it?” Keith asked, mostly to himself. “Either way, Lance is probably already with Allura. I’d have no chance. At least if I leave, I might forget about it after a while. And if I stay…I’d have to see them every day, wouldn’t I? I’d say I was happy for them, sure, but…I’d be miserable. Having to go on knowing I missed my chance with the only person I’ve ever wanted like this?”

Keith sucked in a breath. “The only person I’ve ever wanted like this,” he repeated, then shook his head and groaned. “Ugh! It’s already messing with my mind! If I stay, that means I won’t be going with you. The Blade would have to fight without me. I’d practically be forcing you to choose and I…I don’t want to make you do that again.”

Keith felt a hand rest against his cheek. He looked over at his mother, who gave him a soft smile. “Keith…you know that I never wanted to leave you and your father. I wanted to stay more than anything in the world. But I had to leave to protect you both, and that was the hardest decision I ever had to make. Keith, I want you to listen to me now. I had to leave the people I loved most.”

Krolia looked straight into Keith’s eyes. “You do not have to leave. You can stay for the one you love.”

“But, mom…” Keith’s throat started to tighten up.

“I would be…very happy if you came with me,” Krolia said. “But I would be even happier knowing that you are happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you. So, if you choose to stay, I will let you go.”

Keith felt tears welling in his eyes as he leaned over to wrap his arms around his mother, and he soon felt a hand rubbing soothing strokes down his back. “I only have one day, mom,” Keith said miserably. “What am I going to do?”

“This choice is only yours, Keith,” Krolia answered softly. “Everything will be okay. Just know that I love you, no matter what you decide.”

Keith sank further into his mother’s embrace. “I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love me some good mother/son bonding time. Anyways, I am so so so sorry for going this long without an update. I've been severely lacking in time and motivation considering that I have two weeks left in the semester and it's now crunchtime for everything. Not to mention that season 8 also comes out in two weeks (it comes out on my last day of finals so I won't be able to watch it until I get home- I'll be avoiding all social media like the plague) so I'm really trying to crank the rest of this story out. I think I'm only going to have two chapters left in this. Not much is changing as far as the plot goes, there's just a major conversation that was going to happen before this chapter but is now happening in the last chapter. Anyways, I'm still hoping to get this all done before season 8 comes out. Wish me luck! :)
> 
> P.S. I've confused myself several times with the timeline for this story so here is this:  
> Day 1: Chapter 1  
> Day 2: Chapters 2 & 3  
> Day 3: Chapters 4 & 5  
> Day 4: Chapter 6  
> Day 5: Chapter 7 (and Chapter 8- coming soon)  
> Day 6: (Chapter 9- also coming soon...hopefully)


	8. Chapter 8

Lance wouldn’t typically take the “man of few words” route, but he didn’t have much of a choice this time.

After his talk with Shiro, Lance felt a bit thrown-off, to say the least. He learned so much about Shiro that he never knew before- maybe even a few things he never would have known otherwise. Shiro had a fiancé that he loved, then left, only to finally come back and realize he would never see that fiancé again. Lance’s heart broke just hearing Shiro’s story- he couldn’t imagine how much pain Shiro was in. It just proved how strong Shiro was. Lance admired that.

But beyond the sadness and heartbreak…Lance knew what Shiro was trying to tell him. It was okay for him to like Keith, just as it was okay for Shiro to like Adam. Though, both of their relationships were heading down a similar path. Shiro wanted to leave for Kerberos but Adam wanted him to stay. Keith was going to leave with the Blades but Lance wanted him to stay. The problem was that Lance hadn’t told him that yet. Even Adam had told Shiro – begged Shiro – to stay with him, and it didn’t work. What if that happened with Keith, too? What if Lance asked Keith to stay, only to have to watch him leave anyways? No…no. Lance wouldn’t let his story end like Shiro’s did. Nothing was going to change if he didn’t try. 

That’s why he slipped a note under Allura’s door with a simple message: “I need to talk to you. Come to my room at 8. Please. – Lance”

It was 8:00 right now. Lance’s heart beat a thousand times with every second he waited, and when he finally heard the knock on his door, he almost fell off his bed. After one deep breath, Lance walked on shaky legs and opened the door.

As expected, Allura was standing on the other side with Lance’s note between her fingers. “I received word that you needed to talk to me.”

“Uh, yeah,” Lance answered, “come on in.” He hoped she hadn’t noticed his hand shaking on the doorknob. Lance stuffed his hands in his pockets after Allura walked past. 

“So,” Allura started, her back still to him, “I supposed you didn’t ask me to come here for a simple conversation, did you?”

Lance gave a nervous chuckle. “Unfortunately, no. You might want to, um, sit down.”

Allura sent a slightly confused look his way but perched herself on the corner of his bed. “This must be something very important if you think I’m going to be knocked off my feet.”

“Yeah, yeah it is,” Lance exhaled. “I’m going to be honest, I don’t know how to start this. So, uh, I guess I’ll just get into it then.”

Lance briefly closed his eyes, steeled his nerves, and began. “Look, I’m really, uh, flattered that you might possibly like me a bit. That…that was what you meant right?” Allura nodded. “Ok. Good. Great. That’s really great. But it was just…really sudden, I guess. I really did not see it coming. I mean, I’ve liked you for so long, but I never actually expected you to like me back. So, I was a bit thrown off-balance by it, to say the least. And I, um…I started thinking about us, ya know? And I realized that you had an “us” before I did. I mean with…Lotor.”

Lance saw Allura’s expression change immediately. “Lance, I…I’m done with him. I never wanted to see him again after what he did,” she stated, eyes downcast. “If you think that I still have feelings for that monster then-”

“No!” Lance exclaimed. “That’s not what I meant! This isn’t about him, trust me. It was never about him. But during that time when you were with him, I’ll admit, I was really jealous. He was smart and brave and handsome- everything that I thought I wasn’t. I didn’t know how I’d ever get to the point of being more than him. I just wanted him to leave, but then I realized something important. He made you happy. I saw the way your face lit up whenever he walked in the room. You trusted him, not just with Voltron, but with your heart. I decided that if he was going to be the guy to make you happy, then I should let it be. Your happiness was what was most important, even if it wasn’t with me. I started…I started to let you go. And I was surprisingly okay with it.”

“But now…” Lance swallowed hard. “Now you’re acting on those feelings. And for me, those feelings…I’m just not sure that they’re there anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely still like you. It’s just in a more ‘I really respect you and enjoy our friendship’ rather than ‘I want to date you and stuff’.” 

Allura folded her hands in her lap. “I see.”

“And besides,” Lance started again, “if I started dating you, I’d have to go back into space, wouldn’t I? I’m pretty sure my mama would lock me in my room before letting me leave again. Oh, quiznak…would I eventually be King of Altea? That’s way too much responsibility. I can barely pass physics let alone run a kingdom. They probably won’t even let me make jokes during diplomatic meetings. What if I don’t look good in a crown? Nevermind, I’d definitely look good in a crown-”

“Lance!” Allura interrupted. “You’re rambling.”

Lance’s shoulders dropped as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh…I do that when things get awkward. Sorry.”

Allura stood, her arms crossed. “So, you…have no feelings for me anymore?”

“Not romantically, no.” Lance waited for the worst part.

However, Allura just smiled. “In hindsight, I should’ve seen this coming.”

Lance’s eyes widened. “You- you’re not mad?”

“Why should I be?” Allura asked. “Everything you said is valid. There is no arguing that I was happy with Lotor for a time. You were justified to see that and move on. I should have recognized that instead of trying to reignite your feelings for me. Though, on second thought, there is one thing I’m angry about.”

“And what would that be?” Lance asked, bracing himself.

Allura flopped down dramatically onto the bed. “Now I’m going to have to entertain suitors from all across the universe.”

Lance laughed loudly. “Are you serious? Coran would make you do that?”

“Of course he wouldn’t,” Allura declared, “but they’re going to come anyways. You know, before the war with the Galra started, one from planet Minoax came to Altea to try to win my hand.”

“And?”

“He only compared me to his numerous past affairs a handful of times,” she scoffed, and Lance cringed. “Plus, he gave off an odd odor like expired juniberry pie. I told my father to send him home after two days.”

Lance sat down on the bed next to her. “Well, in my opinion, I don’t think you need those suitors. Altea would be more than fine with you as its queen.”

Allura sat up and smiled at him. “Thank you, Lance. That means a lot to me.”

“But by chance you do meet a guy you like,” Lance continued, “I’m definitely going to be one of the groomsmen at your wedding, right?”

“Of course,” Allura laughed. Then, after a moment, she held her arms out to Lance, who gladly accepted her hug. “I want you to know that I want you to be happy, too. You are an incredible friend, Lance, and you deserve to find someone who gives you all the joy in the universe.”

Lance could only hug her tighter as he felt his eyes start to water. “Thank you, Allura.”

“Lance," Allura began once she pulled away, "can I ask you something?”

“Of course, Princess.”

“Does this have anything to do with Keith leaving?”

Lance’s entire body bolted upright. “WHAT! I mean, uh, what? Keith leaving? Nah. Nope. This was definitely a coincidence. Totally planned out. Nothing to do with Keith. At all. None.”

“Lance?”

“…yes?”

“You are a terrible liar.”

Lance only covered his face with his hands and groaned.

“Look, Lance,” Allura continued, putting her hand on his shoulder, “it’s okay. You know, on Altea, relationships were very open. I was always taught to never be ashamed of having feelings for anyone, and you shouldn’t either. Liking Keith isn’t something you should hide from.”

“Oh, now you think I like him?” Lance challenged. “And how would you know that, hmm? Maybe we’re just really good friends.”

Allura gave him a knowing look. “Again, you are a terrible liar. When I was younger, one of the first lessons of my training was learning to read emotions. It was an important skill for diplomacy, judicial trials, learning when my father didn’t want to eat Coran’s cooking, among other things. Lance, I’ve seen the way you look at Keith. It’s hard to mistake for anything else.”

“Allura, you’re not really helping my confidence here,” Lance complained. “Apparently I’ve been making goo-goo eyes at Keith this entire time and no one felt the need to tell me.”

“And you didn’t let me finish,” Allura pointed out. “I’ve also seen the way he looks at you.”

Lance felt warmth in his chest again. Did Keith really look at him like that? Had he been too blind to see it? What Allura had just said skyrocketed his hopes, but the same doubts he had had earlier brought him back to earth. “What if he doesn’t like me back, though? For all we know, you could be wrong. I mean, he’s Keith! Getting any sort of loving emotion out of him would be like getting Pidge to surrender her computer for a week.”

“All you can do is try,” Allura said sincerely. “And on the bright side, if things between you two don’t work out, he’s going to be leaving for the outer reaches of the universe. At least you won’t be seeing each other very often.”

Lance paused, looked at Allura, then burst out laughing with Allura soon following suit. They laughed until they were clutching their stomachs and Lance felt tears in the corners of his eyes. The whole situation was completely ridiculous- here he was talking with the girl he had had a crush on for months about his new crush on the boy who had been his arch rival. Lance wouldn’t have had it any other way. 

“You’ll just have to trust me, Lance,” Allura finally breathed out. “Trying and failing would be better than never knowing at all, right?”

“Yeah,” Lance agreed, wiping the tears from his eyes. “I’m just really hoping to not have the ‘failing’ part.”

“It will be okay, no matter what happens,” Allura assured him. “And I…I’m very thankful for this journey we had together, Lance. You’ve taught me many things, and for that I will always be grateful.”

Lance smiled brightly. “Me too, Allura.”

With that, Allura rose from the bed and began walking to the door, only to pause right before she walked out. “And Lance? Just know that…you deserve to be someone’s first choice.”

Allura closed the door, and Lance was left with his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go! Man, December 14th is creeping up faster than I thought it would. I'm going to get the final chapter out before then, I promise. I definitely don't want to write it after I watch season 8 because then I'll probably want to change a lot of things (and hopefully by then, I won't need fanfiction for klance to be canon). But, yeah. Be watching this week for that to get published, and wish me luck in writing like four more papers for finals:)


	9. Chapter 9

Things started to go wrong from the moment Lance woke up.

The night before, Keith had informed their little group that he would be leaving at 12 o’clock sharp the next day- any later, and Kolivan would leave him behind. So, Lance set an alarm for himself to wake up at 10 o’clock. He needed time to shower, find a good outfit, and settle his nerves. If he was going to confess his feelings to Keith, he was at least going to look good doing it.

Lance woke up to the sun streaming through his window at 11:30 a.m.

He didn’t even give himself time to question why his alarm hadn’t gone off. Lance practically fell out of bed, then jumped into the shower, and finally threw on his clothes from yesterday that had been piled up in the corner. He caught a glimpse of the clock- now 11:45. Lance cursed his lifelong habit of taking long showers. As he brushed his teeth, Lance attempted to remember what exactly Keith had said.

_Oh quiznak, what hangar was it again?_ Lance thought to himself. _7B? Wait, no- it was 7D, right?_ His emotions had been so jumbled up that he hadn’t paid attention. He’d just have to find out on his own. There was no time for hesitation now.

Lance didn’t even make sure the door closed behind him before sprinting down the hallway.

\---------------

In a miraculous stroke of luck, Lance’s first guess of 7B had been correct. He nearly threw himself through the door and allowed himself a few seconds to slow his pounding heart. Once again, though, that did not go as planned. Lance raised his head back up only to come face-to-face with Keith searching through a crate, a slightly concerned but mostly confused expression on his face as he took in a breathless and sweaty Lance.

“Oh, quiznak,” Lance mumbled. “Uh, hey, Keith. Fancy seeing you here.”

Keith raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, so maybe I just burst through the door after running half the length of the Garrison. Give me a break, would you?” Lance pleaded.

Keith scoffed at him and turned back to the crate. “I’m surprised you even showed up,” he said bitterly.

Now it was Lance’s turn to be confused. “Uh, why wouldn’t I? You’re about to leave for who knows how long. I’m allowed to see you off, right?” Lance didn’t know why Keith was acting this angrily towards him, but he needed to do what he came here to do.  “And besides,” he continued, “I, um…I need to talk to you about something.”

“There’s nothing to talk about, Lance,” Keith responded. He didn’t even look up.

“Oh, trust me, there is,” Lance said under his breath. “C’mon man,” this time, louder, “what gives?”

Lance paused when Keith didn’t say anything back, then sighed as he realized something. “Dude, you’re not still mad about the sparring accident, are you? I’m sorry, okay? I tried to apologize to you anyways, but you stormed out before I-”

“Are you serious?” Keith snapped. “You think that’s what I’m angry about?”

Lance threw his hands in the air. “What else would it be!?”

Keith slammed the lid of the crate shut. “Oh, I don’t know,” he said nonchalantly. “Maybe it was the cadets at breakfast gossiping about the Princess slipping into the Red Paladin’s room last night. Are you seriously that dense?”

Lance felt like Keith had just slapped him across the face. “Dude, what? That’s so not what-”

“Not what it looks like, huh?” Keith interrupted. His hands had balled into fists. “It’s never what it looks like, is it? That’s only because you’re too freaking blind, Lance. You’re too blind.” He started to walk away.

“Keith, please!” Lance said sternly. He grabbed for Keith’s hand, ignoring the jolt that went through his when their fingers connected. He needed to set this straight right here, right now. “Please, just listen to me.”

Lance watched Keith’s face intently. Angry, furious, doubtful in every way. Then, for a moment, his features relaxed, his eyes softened. He looked into Lance’s pleading eyes. “Lance, I…”

Just like that, the hardness returned. Keith yanked his hand out of Lance’s. Without looking at Lance again, he simply said, “I hope you’re happy.”

Lance only stood there in shock for a few seconds as Keith disappeared around a stack of crates.

\---------------

Keith had honestly hoped that Lance wouldn’t show up. It would’ve made things easier.

He was only going to search the crates for some extra tool Kolivan had requested. But when he saw Lance practically fall out of the doorway…he almost broke, right then and there. Almost. The nagging voices of those young cadets broke into his skull within a second.

“I swear!” one of them had said in a hushed tone. “I was going to get some notes from Jackie and I saw them! Yeah, the alien princess with the white hair and the cute guy who flies the Red cat.”

“Man, I wish I was her,” another one commented.

“She looked pretty happy to me,” the first one spoke again. And a little later: “No, I never saw her come out. For all I know, she could’ve stayed there all night.”

That had been the nail in the coffin for Keith. Lance had made his choice. Who was Keith to try and deny him what he wanted? Keith had already said his goodbyes to everyone before Lance had barged in. He didn’t bother to look behind him for Lance as he walked towards the small ship his mother and Kolivan were already sitting in. Why should he? There was no use. Unless Lance was about to confess his undying love, he didn’t want to hear it.

However, his eyes betrayed him as he buckled himself into the pilot’s seat. He didn’t want to look. He didn’t want to see that hurt expression on Lance’s face again. But he did it anyways. Lance, apparently recovered from Keith’s words, rounded the corner of the crates running, only to stop once he saw the other paladins hanging around the ship. He looked helpless. His eyes desperately drifted to Allura, then Shiro, then to Keith.

Keith saw Lance’s lips form one word. _Please._

It took all of Keith’s control to turn away. It felt like an ice-cold hand seized his heart when he hit the button to activate the cockpit’s windshield. It felt like claws were tearing at his hands when he started the engine. And it felt like the worst pain he had ever experienced when he drove the ship out of the hangar and pulled up into the sky.

It was better for things to end this way.

\---------------

Lance had just enough strength to stop himself from dropping to his knees as he watched Keith’s ship get farther and farther away.

This was not how things were supposed to go. This was not how things were supposed to go at all. Right now, he was supposed to be telling Keith about his feelings, learning that Keith felt the same way, holding hands, hearing Keith say that he’d stay just for Lance. That’s how it was supposed to end. It was supposed to be a happy ending.

And Keith had left before Lance could even explain anything. What did Keith even think- that he and Allura had spent all night making out and cuddling under the blankets like in the cheesy romance movies? If that stubborn mullet had just listened to him…

He messed up. He messed up big time and now he couldn’t fix it. Lance wanted to cry.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Lance, look at me,” Shiro demanded. “I left without saying goodbye to Adam one last time,” he said, his voice softer now. “Don’t make the same mistake that I did.”

Lance tried to speak around the lump in his throat. “Shiro, I…I can’t. He’s gone. For good.”

“Red is the fastest lion, Lance,” Shiro reminded him. “You can catch him.”

But only if he left now. Stay, or go. Go, or stay. “I don’t-”

Lance caught Allura’s eye. “Go,” she said with a smile. “And don’t bother coming back without him.”

Warmth slowly seeped into Lance’s chest. He could do it. He could.

With one final smile and a nod, Lance took off towards the lions’ hangar.

\---------------

Keith had to be honest. He did not expect the lion.

He had been silent the entire way through Earth’s atmosphere. It wasn’t like he had anything to say anyways. Keith just wanted to get to the other Blades already so he could stop thinking about how helpless Lance had looked.

“Keith,” his mother said softly, breaking the silence, “are you okay?”

Keith gripped the controls tighter. “I’m fine, mom. Nothing to worry about.”

Krolia placed a hand on his shoulder. “Keith,” she repeated, sterner this time, “you didn’t even try to talk to him.”

“There was nothing to talk about, mom. You heard the cadets this morning, too,” Keith reminded her.

“Did you not see the way he looked at you, Keith?”

“Mom, I told you, it doesn’t matter.”

“You do not get to tell me it doesn’t matter after what you said yesterday.”

“Things change, if you hadn’t noticed.”

“Keith, please. I’m just trying to-”

“LOOK OUT!” Kolivan yelled.

Keith slammed on the breaks.

“Keith!”

He knew that voice. “Lance?”

The entire windshield of the ship was taken up by the Red Lion’s head.

“Who else do you think it would be?” Lance yelled through the ship’s radio.

Keith sagged into his chair. “Lance, I told you, I don’t want to talk. Just go back to the Garrison already.” He could almost hear Lance roll his eyes.

“Look man, if you don’t come over here, then I’m coming in there,” Lance said.

“Lance, for quiznaking sake-”

“I will follow your stubborn mullet to the edge of the solar system, so help me, if you don’t fly your grumpy butt over here right now.”

“Alright! Fine,” Keith conceded. “I’ll be there in a minute.” He shut off the radio connection.

Keith looked around for his helmet, only to find that Krolia was holding it. She gave him a knowing look. “I told you so,” she said with a smile.

“I hate it when you’re right,” Keith sighed.

\---------------

Lance watched the cockpit doors open as Keith stepped through.

“And just what do you think you’re doing here?” Keith asked angrily, taking off his helmet.

Lance only swallowed and looked at the floor. “You didn’t say goodbye.” He hadn’t been prepared for this part- it was the best he could come up with.

Keith just smacked his palm against his forehead. “You’re telling me that you went to Red, flew out of the Garrison, went all the way through Earth’s atmosphere, and tracked down my ship just because I didn’t tell you ‘bye’?”

“Well, I mean- that’s not all,” Lance admitted, crossing his arms.

“Then what? You’re already wasting my time.”

“Excuse me, but I could’ve told you all this back on Earth if you had just listened to me. But, on the account of your dumb hotheaded nature, you refused,” Lance pointed out.

Keith let out a sound akin to a growl. “Fine. Tell me what’s so important that I needed to come here for it.”

Lance wanted to get the easy part out of the way first. “Whatever you think happened between me and Allura is definitely not what actually happened. Yes, I asked her to come to my room, but it was only so I could talk to her without people around.”

“Okay, sure,” Keith said sarcastically. “Just without people around.”

“Mullet, can you not do that for, I don’t know, five minutes?” Lance asked. “Anyways, I didn’t want people around because I had to tell her…I had to tell her that I didn’t have feelings for her anymore.”

Keith’s eyes went wide. “You…don’t?”

Lance shrugged his shoulders. “I guess I don’t. I know it sounds weird, but it’s the truth. We broke things off peacefully.”

“Any particular reason why?” Keith asked.

“I-” Lance almost let it out, but his stomach dropped before the words could come. “I don’t know. I guess…maybe part of it was what you said, about being her second choice. Another part was just- I mean, after everything with Lotor happened, I let go of her a bit, and I don’t think those feelings I let go of ever came back. And besides all of that, well, you announcing your immediate departure didn’t help much.”

Keith straighten up immediately. “What?”

Here came the inevitable. Lance took a really deep breath. “I’m not going to beat around the bush here. I…man, I hated it when you left the first time. I mean- I was your right-hand man. Second-in-command. I didn’t feel unwanted like I did before sometimes. I had a place to fit in. And it was…it was just because I let you lead me. And I considered you to be my friend, you jerk. And then you just left. You left without a second thought to how any of us felt about it- how I felt about it. Now you’re here, leaving again. I- I just don’t know…” Lance didn’t know where to go. Only silence responded to him.

“You think I didn’t consider how you felt?” Keith asked quietly. Lance almost didn’t hear him. “You think I just left because I wanted to? That I would leave the only people who ever cared about me in my entire life?” His voice was getting louder and louder.

“You said it yourself, Keith,” Lance said. “You didn’t want to be the leader. Once you saw an opportunity to leave, you took it without one glance back.”

“How dense can you possibly be?”

“I don’t know, mullet. What is so obvious here that I’m not getting?”

“I left because of you! Can’t you see that?” Keith yelled.

Lance was speechless for a few seconds. “Because of me? Man, if I knew you hated me that much, then-”

“No!” Keith interrupted. “No, quiznak, that’s not it. Don’t you remember? ‘One paladin too many’? You think I forgot about that?”

“I- I don’t-”

“With me gone, Shiro would go back to Black,” Keith explained. “You’d stay with Red, and Allura would keep Blue. If I didn’t leave, you would have volunteered yourself to step down. I couldn’t go on forming Voltron knowing that you’d be stuck in the castle when all you wanted was to fly and fight. Yes, I saw an opportunity to leave and I took it. Call me a coward. Tell me that I ran away. But don’t you dare tell me that I left without a second thought about you. All I did was think about you.”

Keith wouldn’t meet Lance’s eyes. Lance took a step forward.

“Why?” he asked. Another step. “Why did you?”

Keith still looked at the floor. “You’re blind, Lance,” he answered simply. “You. Are. Blind.”

“Keith…”

“Why did I leave, Lance? Why did I leave my spot on the team for you? Why did I get angry when Allura started having feelings for you? Why was I furious when I heard some thirteen-year-old cadets who have nothing better to do gossiping about your love life?”

“If you’re not going to say it, then you can just-”

“I like you! That’s it. That’s all it ever was,” Keith confessed.

Lance’s heart stopped beating.

“I wanted to protect you. And I was jealous of Allura,” Keith continued. “It was so stupid of me – so incredibly stupid – but I almost couldn’t stand the thought of you falling in love with her. I pictured you two going to dinner and walking through the park and watching the stars. Everything that I wanted to do with you. It- ugh, it wasn’t your fault, and it wasn’t hers. I couldn’t stop what I was feeling no matter how hard I tried. And then you defend what you felt so fiercely that I knew you couldn’t come back from it. I’d have to sit there and watch you two every single day. I’d have to convince myself that I was happy for you guys when I’d really be thinking every second about how I could’ve had you if things were different. It was better for me to just leave.”

Lance managed to find a little bit of his voice, softly whispering, “Keith, I…”

“No, Lance,” Keith demanded. He finally looked up at Lance again, and there were near-falling tears in his eyes. “I’m not taking another heartbreak again.”

Lance tried again. “Keith, please, I need to-”

“Just stop. Just stop and go back to Earth. Please. I’m not worth it to you.” Keith moved towards the doors.

Now or never, Lance repeated in his head. Now or never.

Now or never.

Now or never.

Lance reached out, grabbed Keith’s wrist, turned him around, put his hands on Keith’s face, and kissed him.

Lance closed his eyes, so he didn’t see what happened. He only knew that the kiss only lasted a few seconds. He pulled his lips away, but kept his forehead on Keith’s.

“You have no idea what you’re worth to me,” he whispered. “You’re worth all the stars in the universe. I’m sorry for not recognizing that sooner. I’m sorry to myself for not recognizing that sooner. I only realized it a few days ago. It shouldn’t have taken you leaving again for me to realize it. It shouldn’t have taken Allura’s confession for me to realize it. I need you to be my leader. I need you to be my friend. And I hope to the edge of the cosmos and back that you need me, too. You can…you can leave if you still want to. But please, please, please-”

He kissed Keith one more time, opening his eyes afterwards. “Stay.”

A few tears had escaped Keith’s eyes and were now running down his cheeks and wetting Lance’s fingers. His pupils took up almost his entire iris. His expression was near blank.

Then, Keith surged forward and wrapped his arms around Lance’s neck, burying his face in Lance’s shoulder. Lance hugged Keith back as tight as he could around Keith’s waist.

Lance heard Keith suck in a shaky breath, then whisper one word into his ear: “Okay.”

Lance smiled, wider than he ever had before. Keith laughed as he cheered and swung him in a circle. It was the most beautiful sound Lance had ever heard. He pulled back a bit to look at Keith again. Now, his expression was clear: rosy cheeks, a huge smile, little crinkles in the corners of his eyes. “Guess you’re coming home with me, then,” Lance said.

Keith’s smile grew even bigger. “Guess I am,” he replied. “Oh- wait!” Keith wriggled himself out of Lance’s arms and walked over the Red’s controls. He hit the button to open the radio channel.

“Hey, mom?” Keith said.

Krolia’s voice echoed back through the cockpit. “Yes, Keith?”

A small laugh bubbled out of Keith. “You were right. I’m staying.”

“I always am, Keith,” Krolia replied. “I love you. I’ll see you soon.”

“I love you, too, mom.” Keith cut off the radio and watched the small ship blast off into space.

_Finally_ , Lance thought, _things are going right_.

“Well,” Lance said aloud, “I guess when we get back, I have to tell Allura she was right, too.”

Keith turned to face him. “What do you mean?”

“She thought you liked me, I didn’t believe her,” Lance explained. “She also told me to not bother coming back unless I had you with me.”

Keith laughed again. If Lance could bottle up that sound and keep it for the rest of his life, he would. “We better get going, then,” Keith said, then sat down in the pilot’s chair.

“Oh no you don’t, mullet,” Lance protested. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I bet I can make it back to Earth in less time than it took you to get here,” Keith challenged, smirking up at Lance.

“Really?” Lance questioned. “And what's the prize for this competition?”

Keith’s features scrunched up for a moment in thought. “How about, winner gets another kiss?”

Lance smiled. "I think I win either way."

\---------

Krolia piloted the small Garrison ship past Mars, then Jupiter, then Saturn before Kolivan finally spoke.

“I’m missing something,” he admitted.

Krolia chuckled. “I’m not sure how you could miss it, Kolivan. It’s quite obvious.”

“Your son chose to stay on Earth because he is in love with the Red Paladin?” Kolivan inquired.

“Yes.”

“And the Red Paladin is in love with Keith?”

“Yes.”

Kolivan crossed his arms. “I will never understand it.”

“You know, Kolivan,” Krolia said, “I hope you find love someday. I think you need it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is finally done! :) God, I have been waiting for this confession for sooooooo long. There's no way this whole chapter could have been done from one point of view, thus both Lance and Keith get their spotlights (+Krolia). If I remember right, that scene with Lance running off to Red to try and catch Keith was the first idea I had for this story, and I had like six different ideas for how it could go- I just chose the one that fit best. Also the part with Shiro saying "Don't make the same mistake I did". Man, I live for klance/adashi parallels.
> 
>  
> 
> Anyways, thank you to everyone who read this story! The people who just read it, the one who leave kudos, the ones who bookmark it, everything. I hope you guys have enjoyed the journey! I guess all that's left is to prepare for the chaos that is season 8. And don't forget: KLANCE IS CANON KING


End file.
